South Korean shares turn lower on fresh Mideast uncertainty
South Korean shares turn lower on fresh Mideast uncertainty SEOUL, June 19 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares fell on Friday, erasing early gains to a record high, amid uncertainty over the Middle East conflict.
** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 was down 97.09 points, or 1.07%, at 8,966.75 as of 0437 GMT, after rising as much as 3.55% to a record high.
** Talks that had been planned for Friday between the United States and Iran at the Burgenstock mountaintop resort in Switzerland will not take place, according to a Swiss foreign ministry statement.
** "The market turned down after talks were cancelled," said Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 2.62%, erasing early gains to record levels. Peer SK Hynix 000660.KS also cut early gains to trade up 2.27%.
** Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS slid 0.75%, while Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS were down 1.33% and down 2.52%, respectively.
** Steelmaker POSCO Holdings 005490.KS shed 4.22%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics 207940.KS fell 5.38%.
** Of the total 918 traded issues, 44 shares advanced, while 865 declined.
** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 379.4 billion won ($246.65 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,538.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform KRW=KFTC, 0.10% higher than its previous close at 1,540.0.
** In money and debt markets, September futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 lost 0.17 point to 102.86.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield KR3YT=RR rose by 5.5 basis points to 3.812%, while the benchmark 10-year yield KR10YT=RR rose by 7.3 basis points to 4.188%.
($1 = 1,538.2000 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Rashmi Aich)