SEOUL– South Korean stocks snapped their three-day winning streak on Friday due to the stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 24.22 points, or 0.87 percent, to close at 2,747.71 points.
Trading volume was moderate at about 457 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won (US$8.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 726 to 168.
Institutions sold a net 464 billion won, while foreigners bought 377 billion won and retail investors purchased 72 billion won.
The KOSPI dropped as the U.S. consumer price index for January was up 7.5 percent, higher than the market consensus.
Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite decreased 2.1 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.47 percent.
“The (U.S.) consumer price data seem to have put the KOSPI on a similar direction as the U.S. stock indexes,” Meritz Securities analyst Lee Jin-woo said.
Tech stocks, usually more sensitive to borrowing rates, retreated on investors’ worries about the Fed’s policy tightening.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.66 percent to 74,900 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.93 percent to 132,000 won.
Internet portal operator Naver moved down 1.21 percent to 327,500 won, and LG Chem shed 4.24 percent to 633,000 won.
Bio heavyweight Samsung Biologics decreased 2.84 percent to 754,000 won, and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor slid 1.35 percent to 183,000 won.
The local currency closed at 1,198.5 won against the U.S. dollar, down 2 won from the previous session’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys added 7.9 basis points to 2.343 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bond rose 7.9 basis points to 2.564 percent.
Source: Yonhap News Agency