SEOUL– Seoul shares extended losses late Friday morning amid investor concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue its monetary tightening to battle inflation.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.88 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,468.64 as of 11:20 a.m.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.7 percent, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 1 percent.
Fed officials said interest rates need to remain high for a while to rein in inflation, weighing on investor sentiment.
Institutions and foreigners sold a combined 490 billion won (US$388 million) worth of stocks, offsetting individuals’ stock purchases valued at 482 billion won.
In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.3 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. declined 0.2 percent, leading car battery maker LG Energy Solution dropped 1.6 percent, and the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. shed 0.6 percent.
Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 0.2 percent, state-run Korea Gas Corp. climbed 0.6 percent, and Hybe, the Korean entertainment agency behind supergroup BTS, jumped 8 percent on news it will acquire a 14.8 percent stake in its rival K-pop agency SM Entertainment to become its largest shareholder.
KOSDAQ-listed SM Entertainment soared 17 percent. Hybe said it will buy a stake from SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man for 422.8 billion won.
The local currency was trading at 1,263.45 won against the greenback, down 3.05 won from the previous session’s close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency