Kospi falls as tech stocks slide, bond yield concerns rise

Shares ended lower Tuesday, led by declines in technology stocks, amid concerns over rising bond yields at multidecade highs. The won strengthened against the dollar.

After opening higher, the Kospi turned lower to close down 62.35 points, or 0.89 percent, at 6,941.39.

Trade volume was light at 257.3 million shares worth 19.1 trillion won ($14.2 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 459 to 424.

Foreigners and institutions sold a net 1.8 trillion won and 2 billion won worth of stocks, respectively. Individuals bought a net 740.6 billion won.

Investors now await third quarter corporate earnings, with higher interest rates, elevated energy costs and renewed inflation worries pushing up global bond yields.

Investors are expected to remain cautious until there is a fresh policy catalyst or strong corporate earnings results, analysts said.

In Seoul, tech stocks led the decline.

Samsung Electronics fell 1.45 percent to 272,000 won and SK hynix declined 3.69 percent to 1.77 million won.

Korea Aerospace Industries dropped 3.22 percent to 129,200 won.

Among gainers, LG Electronics jumped 7.64 percent to 232,500 won after securing a long-term deal with a North American company to supply chillers for AI data centers.

Battery maker Samsung SDI advanced 8.7 percent to 575,000 won and carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.43 percent to 348,000 won.

The won strengthened by 0.4 won from the previous session to close at 1,343.6 against the dollar as of 3:30 p.m.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year government bonds fell 0.4 basis points to 3.93 percent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds shed 1.2 basis points to 4.12 percent.

Yonhap