South Korean shares fell on Wednesday as rising bond yields in the U.S. and Asia, along with geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, deepened a selloff in semiconductor stocks. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
- The benchmark KOSPI was down 319.75 points, or 4.65 percent, at 6,550.08 as of 0142 GMT.
- Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 6.33 percent, while peer SK Hynix lost 7.34 percent. Shares of battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 1 percent.
- Long-term borrowing costs from the U.S. to Germany and Japan hit their highest in decades on Tuesday due to ballooning government debt and geopolitics, raising borrowing costs for companies and households and complicating policy.
- Iran will shift to a "fully offensive" military posture because efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war with the U.S. have stalled, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, as Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.
- Hyundai Motor and sister automaker Kia Corp were down 4.37 percent and 3.57 percent, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 2.16 percent, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics fell 0.65 percent.
- Scheduled joint U.S. and South Korean military drills are expected to be cut by about half, South Korean media reported on Wednesday, following U.S. President Donald Trump's order to substantially reduce U.S. participation in the annual exercises.
- Of the total 905 traded issues, 145 shares advanced, while 742 declined.
- Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 1,466.7 billion won.
- The KOSPI has risen 55.43 percent so far this year.
- The won has strengthened 2.2 percent against the dollar so far this year.
- In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds were unchanged at 103.13.
- The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 1.4 basis points to 3.855 percent, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose 0.7 basis points to 4.382 percent.
Reuters
