South Korean shares fall on caution ahead of Samsung Electronics' earnings
South Korean shares fall on caution ahead of Samsung Electronics' earnings SEOUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares fell on Wednesday, as investors took a wait-and-see stance ahead of Samsung Electronics' earnings release to assess the outlook for AI demand.
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was down 43.20 points, or 0.62%, at 6,898.19 as of 0138 GMT.
** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS was up 0.18%, after rising more than 2% earlier in the session, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS lost 1.52%.
** Samsung Electronics is expected to report on Thursday a nearly nine-fold jump in third-quarter operating profit, driven by robust AI demand, though analysts have cut forecasts by nearly 8% since the end of August.
** "The upside for the domestic market will be capped by wait-and-see sentiment ahead of Samsung Electronics' earnings and caution ahead of a holiday later this week," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
** South Korean markets will be closed on Friday for a public holiday.
** Among other index heavyweights, battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 0.38%, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were down 2.16% and down 1.95%, respectively.
** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS shed 2.36%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS fell 1.91%.
** Of the total 911 traded issues, 415 shares advanced, while 438 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 865.3 billion won ($646.93 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,338.3 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.04% higher than its previous close at 1,338.8.
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 lost 0.01 point to 102.62.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 1.4 basis points to 3.949%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose by 1.1 basis points to 4.384%.
($1 = 1,337.5500 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee)
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