South Korean shares end down on institutional sell-off

Korea Electric Power

02/01/2023 07:15

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      KOSPI falls, foreigners net buyers
    

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      Korean won weakens against dollar
    

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      South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
    

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      For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N33N01Z
    

  
       SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
    ** South Korean shares reversed early gains to end the first
session of 2023 lower, dragged down by institutional sell-off in
relatively thin trading. The won weakened, while the benchmark
bond yield rose.
    ** The benchmark KOSPI  .KS11  ended down 10.72 points, or
0.48%, at 2,225.68, after rising as much as 1.05%, led by
electric-vehicle (EV) stocks.
    ** The index closed at its lowest since Oct. 20, 2022 and
extended its losing streak to a third straight session.
    ** "The market turned down on institutional investors'
selling due to the seasonal factor of rebalancing at the
beginning of a new year," said Seo Sang-young, analyst at Mirae
Asset Securities.
    ** "With most stock markets closed across major countries,
trading was also thin in the local market."
    ** Institutional investors were net sellers of shares worth
264.4 billion won ($207.83 million), while foreigners bought a
net 8.5 billion won in stocks. 
    ** Automakers and battery manufacturers jumped as U.S.
guidance on electric-vehicle tax credits released last week was
seen to reduce South Korean companies' disadvantages related to
the Inflation Reduction Act.    
    ** Most airline, hotel and travel agency stocks fell
following South Korea's announcement of measures to restrict
travellers from China. Cosmetics stocks also dropped as it forms
a big part of the visitors' shopping carts.   
    ** Korea Electric Power Corp  015760.KS  dropped 11.24% and
logged its biggest daily loss since late October 2008, with
analysts saying that South Korea's decision to raise electricity
prices by nearly 10% did not met their expectations. 
    ** Only 177 shares gained among 927 traded issues.  
    ** The won ended onshore trade  KRW=KFTC  at 1,272.6 per
dollar, 0.64% lower than its previous close.
    ** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  fell 0.12 point to 103.33.
    ** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield
rose by 5.8 basis points to 3.783%, while the benchmark 10-year
yield rose by 7.8 basis points to 3.813%.
($1 = 1,272.2000 won)
 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee
Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))