S.Korean stocks fall most in 6 weeks on Huawei executive arrest

Netmarble

06/12/2018 07:37

* Junior KOSDAQ market drops 3.2 pct, the most since Oct 29
    * Netmarble slumps after new mobile game shows tech errors
    * Hyundai Motor rises as new factory plan hits snag
    * For the midday report, please click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1YB1BR

    SEOUL, Dec 6 (Reuters) - South Korean shares fell the most
in six weeks on Thursday, pounded by quickly souring sentiment
after the arrest of a top executive of Chinese telecoms giant
Huawei in Canada sent global equity markets tumbling.
    The benchmark KOSPI index  .KS11  declined 1.55 percent, or
32.62 points, to 2,068.69, in its sharpest daily fall since Oct.
26. The local market has also been under pressure from concerns
about Sino-U.S. trade talks and a flattened U.S. yield curve.
    Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei  HWT.UL 
and daughter of the company founder, was arrested in Vancouver
and is facing extradition to the United States for alleged
violation of U.S. sanctions.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1YA1YR 
    Investors took the news in their stride amid uncertainties
about trade talks between Washington and Beijing, Seo
Sang-young, an analyst with Kiwoom Securities, said in a note to
clients.
    The electronic industry sub-index  .KS41 , to which Samsung
Electronics  005930.KS  and SK Hynix  000660.KS  belong, lost
2.6 percent, with Samsung falling 2.3 percent and SK diving 3.2
percent. 
    Foreigners were net sellers of 389 billion won ($346.19
million) worth of KOSPI shares. 
    The junior KOSDAQ market  .KQ11  shrank by 3.2 percent,
posting its biggest single-day drop since Oct. 29. 
    The main index has dropped over 16 percent so far this year,
pressured by a series of global events, including a prolonged
Sino-U.S. trade war and a slowing global economy. 
    Bucking the broad selloff, automaker Hyundai Motor
 005380.KS  jumped 2.8 percent, with investors welcoming the
news of its factory plan hitting a snag.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1YB26R
    Game giant Netmarble  251270.KS  fell 12 percent after its
newly released mobile game showed technical errors.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1YB0A9
    The won weakened in line with the global selloff in risky
assets. The currency was quoted at 1,120.3 per dollar on the
onshore settlement platform  KRW=KFTC , 0.55 percent weaker than
its previous close at 1,114.1. 
    In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year
treasury bonds  KTBc1  rose 0.14 points to 109.15.
    The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was
quoted at 1.9 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean
treasury bond yielded 1.846 percent, lower than the previous
day's 1.90 percent.

($1 = 1,119.8000 won)

 (Reporting by Hayoung Choi; Editing by Choonsik Yoo and
Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5643; Reuters
Messaging: hayoung.choi@thomsonreuters.com))