South Korean shares drop as traders gauge Trump's latest tariff threat

Kakao

20/02/2025 01:22

* 
      KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
    

        * 
      Korean won weakens against dollar
    

        * 
      South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
    

  
       SEOUL, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
    
    ** South Korean shares fell on Thursday, poised to snap a
seven-day rally, pressured by chip, automakers and
biopharmaceutical stocks as traders kept to the sidelines
following U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat.
    ** The benchmark KOSPI  .KS11  was down 16.78 points, or
0.63%, at 2,654.74, as of 0059 GMT. The index closed on
Wednesday at its highest point since late September 2024. 
    ** Trump said he will announce tariffs related to lumber,
cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals "over the next month or
sooner".
    ** Shares of chipmaker Samsung Electronics  005930.KS  fell
0.34% and peer SK Hynix  000660.KS  lost 0.92%, while Hyundai
Motor  005380.KS  and sister automaker Kia Corp  000270.KS 
traded down 0.98% and 1.26%, respectively.
    ** Samsung Biologics  207940.KS  fell 1.73% while
biopharmaceutical peer Celltrion  068270.KS  shed 0.17%. 
    ** Among other index heavyweights, battery manufacturers and
steel producers rose, while e-commerce firms were mixed.
    ** South Korean stocks with exposure to businesses in China
rallied on media reports that Beijing plans to lift an
unofficial ban on Korean contents in the first half of 2025.    
  
    ** Of the total 937 traded issues, 430 shares advanced,
while 446 declined.
    ** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 169.9 billion
won ($118.20 million).
    ** The won was quoted at 1,442.1 per dollar on the onshore
settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.05% lower than its previous
close at 1,441.4.
    ** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.02 point to 106.61.
    ** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield
 KR3YT=RR  rose by 1.6 basis points to 2.639%, while the
benchmark 10-year yield  KR10YT=RR  climbed 1.9 basis points to
2.888%.

     ($1 = 1,437.4500 won)
    

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))