South Korean shares fall for third day on high volatility in chip stocks

SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS

30/07/2026 07:57

KOSPI falls, foreigners net buyers
Korean won strengthens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
For the midday report, please click nL1N43W01Y
SEOUL, July 30 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares erased early gains to end lower on Thursday, extending losses to a third straight session to close at the lowest in nearly four months, as volatility remained high for chipmaker stocks. 
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 index closed down 69.68 points, or 1.23%, at 5,593.56, its lowest close since April 7 in a session that saw it climb as much as 5.5% and later reverse course to fall as much as 2.1% before paring losses slightly. 
** On Wednesday, it had fallen 6%, adding to Tuesday's 11% plunge. 
** "Volatility in chipmaker stocks has not been reduced yet, with leveraged ETFs still at high trading volumes," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. 
** South Korea introduced additional curbs on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including a cap that could limit an individual's investment in such products to 20% of their total investment assets.   
** South Korea's efforts to rein in the leveraged products wreaking havoc in its financial markets may not go far enough to quell skyrocketing volatility, analysts say.
** Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 0.72%, erasing early gains of as much as 8.39%. The chipmaker said chip shortages would worsen and extend into 2028, after it posted a more than 250-fold jump in chip profit.
** Peer SK Hynix 000660.KS lost 5.64%. 
** Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 6.49%, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were down 0.71% and up 0.33%, respectively.
** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS added 4.16%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS rose 2.10%.
** Of the total 916 traded issues, 608 shares advanced, while 279 declined.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 1.3 trillion won ($904.66 million). 
** The won was quoted at 1,437.4 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.63% higher than its previous close at 1,446.5.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 4.3 basis points to 3.837%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose by 6.4 basis points to 4.330%.

($1 = 1,437.0000 won)

 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)
 ((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))