Stocks fell more than 1 percent Tuesday as investors shunned risky assets amid concerns over further aggressive rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The won continued to weaken against the dollar following a sharp drop in the previous session.
The Kospi lost 27.16 points, or 1.10 percent, to close at 2,435.34, extending the losing streak to a fifth session.
Trading volume was moderate at 460.02 million shares worth 7.34 trillion won ($5.49 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 686 to 206.
Institutions shed shares worth 131.3 billion won, while retail and foreign investors picked up a net 138.3 billion and 969 million won worth of shares.
“The weak market momentum around the globe is caused mainly by uncertainty over the pace of U.S. interest rate hikes and related macroeconomic circumstances,” Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young said.
Investors will be watching what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says about the path of monetary policy and the economy at the annual Jackson Hole symposium on Friday.
Most big-cap shares lost ground Tuesday, with tech and bio shares under heavy downward pressure.
Samsung Electronics fell 1.5 percent to 59,100 won and SK hynix lost 1.68 percent to 93,600 won amid news that exports of semiconductors logged an on-year fall this month.
LG Chem sank 2.97 percent to 620,000 won, and Samsung SDI retreated 2.17 percent to 587,000 won.
Among major tech firms, LG Energy Solution was the only gainer by going up 0.56 percent to 445,000 won.
Samsung Biologics tumbled 2.59 percent to 829,000 won, and Celltrion skidded 3.0 percent to 194,000 won.
The local currency ended at 1,345.5 won against the dollar, up 5.7 won from the previous session’s close. It marked the lowest figure since April 28, 2009, when it ended at 1,356.80 won.
The Kosdaq fell 12.45 points, or 1.56 percent, to close at 783.42 points.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds climbed 3.5 basis points to 3.29 percent, and the yield on the 10-year government bond rose 5.4 basis points to 3.02 percent.
BY LIM JEONG-WON, YONHAP [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]
