SEOUL– Seoul stocks turned to losses late Tuesday morning amid growing woes over a global recession caused by aggressive monetary tightening moves in major economies.
After opening a tad higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had declined 14.64 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,206.3 as of 11:20 a.m.
The KOSPI dipped to the lowest level Monday in over two years.
Investors’ appetite for risky assets remained subdued as aggressive monetary tightening moves in major economies stoked concerns about a global recession.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.11 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.6 percent. The S&P500 lost 1.03 percent.
Last week, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rates by three-quarters of a point, its third increase in a row, to bring down inflation.
In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.19 percent, and top automaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.82 percent.
SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, lost 1.33 percent, with battery maker LG Energy Solutions dropping 1.01 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem shed 0.53 percent.
The Korean won had been changing hands at 1,428.25 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., up 3.05 won from the previous session’s close.
Source: Yonhap News Agency