SEOUL — South Korean shares faced a downturn for the second consecutive session on Monday, driven by investors capitalizing on recent profits. Alongside the stock market, the local currency depreciated against the U.S. dollar.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased by 10.99 points, or 0.4 percent, ending the day at 2,737.57. The trading volume reached a moderate level with approximately 479.9 million shares exchanged, valued at around 9.78 trillion won ($7.23 billion). The market saw more losers than winners, with 527 stocks declining and 336 advancing.
The downward movement was led by foreign and institutional investors who sold off a combined total of 331.6 billion won in local shares. Conversely, individual investors engaged in buying, acquiring a net total of 330.3 billion won in shares. This selling pressure comes after the KOSPI reached a near two-year high last Thursday, fuelled by optimism regarding potential U.S. interest rate cuts.
Sector-specific impacts were noted by Lee Jae-won, an analyst from Shinhan Securities. Semiconductor, automobile, and financial sectors, which were primarily responsible for the previous week’s rally, experienced significant sell-offs due to profit-taking. However, this was partially offset by gains in biotechnology and entertainment shares.
In detail, leading companies experienced notable declines: Samsung Electronics saw a decrease of 0.89 percent, SK hynix fell by 0.24 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped by 1.64 percent, and Kia Motors saw a decline of 1.24 percent. Additionally, KB Financial Group saw a significant drop of 3.87 percent, and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance decreased by 1.63 percent.
On the positive side, the battery sector saw some advancement with LG Energy Solution climbing by 0.24 percent and POSCO Future M increasing by 0.63 percent. In the entertainment and biotech sectors, notable gains were observed with Hybe, the record label behind BTS, rising by 5.72 percent, and leading biotech firm Celltrion increasing by 0.37 percent.
In currency markets, the won closed at 1,342.1 against the U.S. dollar, marking a decrease of 3.7 won from the previous session. Bond prices dropped, correlating with an increase in yields; the yield on three-year Treasurys went up by 0.6 basis point to 3.290 percent, and the yield on five-year government bonds rose by 1.4 basis points to 3.331 percent.