SEOUL– Seoul shares extended their losing streak to a fifth day Thursday amid concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve may keep its aggressive policy tightening following solid economic data. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 11.73 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,371.08. Trading volume was moderate at 345.56 million shares worth 7.4 trillion won (US$5.7 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 643 to 218.
Foreigners sold a net 474 billion won worth of stocks, exceeding institutions and individuals’ combined stock purchases valued at 430 billion won.
The stronger-than-expected jobs report and service industry activity released early this week for November bolstered the case for the Fed to keep aggressive tightening to tame runaway inflation, analysts said.
“Investors remain cautious waiting for U.S. unemployment and wholesale data to be released later this week to take a cue in reorganizing their portfolios,” Lim Seung-mi, an analyst at Hana Securities Co. said.
The possibility that the U.S. economy could slip into a recession in 2023 is also weighing on investor sentiment, she said.
Large-cap stocks closed mixed.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. fell 0.6 percent to 162,000 won, and leading refiner SK Innovation Co. declined 0.6 percent to 163,500 won, No.2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. shed 0.1 percent to 78,800 won, and national flag carrier Korean Air Co. was down 0.2 percent to 26,000 won.
Among gainers, market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. rose 0.5 percent to 59,200, leading cosmetics firm AmorePacific Corp. climbed 0.4 percent to 135,500 won, and leading budget carrier Jeju Air Co. was up 3.8 percent to 13,750 won.
The local currency ended at 1,318.00 won against the greenback, up 3.70 won from the previous day’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 0.4 basis point to 3.676 percent but the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds fell 0.6 basis point to 3.614 percent.
Source: Yonhap News Agency