South Korean shares fall on chip selloff, geopolitical concerns

SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS

19/08/2026 03:07

KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
Korean won strengthens against dollar
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
SEOUL, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets: 
     ** South Korean shares fell on Wednesday as rising bond yields in the U.S. and Asia, along with geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, deepened a selloff in semiconductor stocks. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose. ** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was down 319.75 points, or 4.65%, at 6,550.08 as of 0142 GMT.  ** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 6.33%, while peer SK Hynix 000660.KS lost 7.34%. Shares of battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS climbed 1%.
** Long-term borrowing costs from the U.S. to Germany and Japan hit their highest in decades on Tuesday due to ballooning government debt and geopolitics, raising borrowing costs for companies and households and complicating policy.   
** Iran will shift to a "fully offensive" military posture because efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war with the U.S. have stalled, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, as Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.      ** Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were down 4.37% and 3.57%, respectively. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS shed 2.16%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS fell 0.65%.
** Scheduled joint U.S. and South Korean military drills are expected to be cut by about half, South Korean media reported on Wednesday, following U.S. President Donald Trump's order to substantially reduce U.S. participation in the annual exercises. ** Of the total 905 traded issues, 145 shares advanced, while 742 declined. ** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 1,466.7 billion won. ** The KOSPI has risen 55.43% so far this year. ** The won has strengthened 2.2% against the dollar so far this year. ** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 were unchanged at 103.13. ** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose 1.4 basis points to 3.855%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose 0.7 basis points to 4.382%.


 (Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Cynthia.Kim@thomsonreuters.com; 822 3704 5655; Reuters Messaging: cynthia.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))