S.Korean stocks shed 4% as spreading virus darkens growth outlook
24/02/2020 07:45
* KOSPI falls the most in over 16 mths, foreigners net
sellers
* Korean won hits 6-month low against dollar
* South Korea benchmark bond yield falls
* For the midday report, please click urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2AO025
By Hayoung Choi
SEOUL, Feb 24 (Reuters) - South Korean stocks slumped nearly
4% and the won slid on Monday, as the unabating spread of the
coronavirus heightened concerns about the toll on Asia's
fourth-largest economy.
The government on Monday reported 161 new virus cases,
bringing the total number of infections to 763. The Korea
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention also reported the
seventh death from the virus. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2AO0DA
The rising cases outside of China, where the oubreak
originated, have fanned worries over global supply chain
disruptions and fuelled demand for safe haven assets.
The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 closed down 3.87%, marking the
sharpest one-day fall since early October 2018. The index has
fallen for three sessions in a row and ended at its lowest since
Dec. 5, 2019.
"At this rate, South Korea's first-quarter GDP will
apparently contract from the previous quarter," said Byun Juno,
chief of the research centre at Eugene Investment & Securities.
"If a rate cut is inevitable during the first half of 2020,
the Bank of Korea is increasingly likely to cut the rate
preemptively this week," he added. The central bank is due to
hold a monetary policy review on Thursday.
Amid broad-based falls, market heavyweights Samsung
Electronics 005930.KS and SK Hynix 000660.KS stumbled 4% and
3.4%, respectively. Of the total traded issues of 905, merely 49
of them ended higher.
On Monday, foreigners were net sellers of about 787 billion
won ($652.08 million) on the main board, the biggest since
November last year. So far this month, they have offloaded
around 638.5 billion won worth of KOSPI stocks.
Convenience food manufacturers including CJ Seafood
011150.KS , Seoul Food 004410.KS , as well as shipping company
Han Express 014130.KS surged 30% each to hit their intraday
price limit, as people steered clear of dining-out. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2AO037
The trade-sensitive won also wobbled. The won was quoted at
1,220.2 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform
KRW=KFTC , 0.90% lower than its previous close at 1,209.2, its
lowest finish since Aug. 13, 2019.
The KOSPI has fallen 5.4% so far this year, while the won
has lost 5.2% against the dollar during the same period.
In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds KTBc1 rose 0.14 points to 111.29, while the
3-month Certificate of Deposit rate was quoted at 1.41% in late
afternoon trade.
The most liquid 3-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by
4.4 basis points to 1.137% in late afternoon trade, while the
benchmark 10-year yield fell by 2.7 basis points to 1.415%.
($1 = 1,206.9100 won)
(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 6936 1468;))