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Kospi snaps 3-day rise on profit-taking, won posts sharpest increase in 3 years

Published: 24 Dec. 2025, 17:20

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 4,108.62 points on Dec. 24, down 8.7 points, or 0.21 percent, from the previous trading session. [NEWS1]

Shares closed lower Wednesday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as retail investors moved to take profit following a recent rally of tech and shipbuilding shares. The won rose at the sharpest pace against the dollar in over three years following strong verbal intervention by foreign exchange (FX) authorities.

After starting higher, the Kospi closed 8.7 points, or 0.21 percent, lower at 4,108.62.

Trade volume was moderate at 351.5 million shares worth 11.95 trillion won ($8.2 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 481 to 378.

Despite overnight gains on Wall Street led by stronger-than-expected U.S. growth data and a bullish run of blue chip tech shares, retail investors here unloaded 717.5 billion won on profit-taking sentiment.

Foreigners and institutions continued their buying spree, purchasing a net 520 billion won and 200 billion won worth of local shares, respectively.

The won was quoted at 1,449.8 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., up 2.28 percent from the previous session's close of 1,483.6 won, marking the biggest increase in more than three years.

The steep climb came after the foreign exchange authorities said an excessively weak won was "not desirable," adding the market would soon see their "strong commitment" and determination to stabilize the FX market.

The latest verbal intervention came as the local currency remained near its weakest level in 16 years against the dollar in recent weeks, despite a series of stabilization measures by the authorities.

The won-dollar exchange rate falls sharply on Dec. 24 after the government rolls out currency measures and authorities deliver verbal intervention, with a display board at a Hana Bank branch in central Seoul, showing the rate at 1,451 won. [NEWS1]

In the stock market, tech giant Samsung Electronics lost 0.36 percent to 111,100 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix increased 0.68 percent to 588,000 won.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor gained 0.7 percent to 289,000 won, and its sister Kia climbed 0.68 percent to 121,000 won. Hyundai's auto parts subsidiary, Hyundai Mobis, gained 0.55 percent to 365,000 won.

Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution climbed 0.64 percent to 390,500 won, and AI investment firm SK Square added 1.9 percent to 321,000 won.

Doosan Group, Korea's engineering and energy conglomerate, surged nearly 4 percent to 811,000 won on expectations for its acquisition of chip materials firm SK Siltron, while steel giant Posco Group soared 3.29 percent to 314,000 won.

Young Poong, which is in a management control battle with Korea Zinc, shot down 9.32 percent to 50,600 won after a court dismissed its injunction request against Korea Zinc's plans to conduct a paid-in capital increase by third-party allotment in connection to the company's planned investment in a critical metals refinery in the United States.

Major shipbuilders sharply lost ground following their rally the previous day. Hanwha Ocean slipped 3.57 percent to 119,000 won, HD Korea Shipbuilding dipped 3.7 percent to 416,000 won and HD Hyundai Heavy tumbled 2.63 percent to 519,000 won.

Bio giant Samsung Biologics lost 1.69 percent to 1.69 million won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace pulled back 2.44 percent to 878,000 won. Power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility also dropped 2.19 percent to 75,900 won.

"The Kospi turned lower despite continued purchasing by foreigners and institutions as retail investors moved to take profit from shares that were recently bullish," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said, noting that FX volatility also sapped investors' risk appetite.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys lost 2.4 basis points to 2.939 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds went down 3.1 basis points to 3.211 percent.

Yonhap