Seoul shares dip on US monetary policy uncertainties

Seoul, Dec 20 (IANS) Seoul shares fell more than 1 per cent Friday amid concerns over a slower monetary easing cycle in the United States, along with the aftermath of President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration this month.

The Korean won also continued to hover around 1,450 won per US dollar for two straight sessions, the lowest level in 15 years.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 31.78 points, or 1.3 per cent, to close at 2,404.15. It fell below the 2,400 threshold at one point during the session.

The trade volume was moderate at 606.4 million shares worth 9.12 trillion won (US$6.28 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 703 to 204, Yonhap news agency reported.

Foreigners and institutions dumped local shares worth 817 billion won and 89.1 billion won, respectively, while retail investors bought a net 790 billion won.

Earlier this week, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested two additional rate cuts next year, two fewer than what the Fed had projected three months ago.

"The stock market is experiencing growing volatility amid uncertainties in the US monetary policy," said Kim Ji-won, an analyst at KB Securities. "The market sentiment over risky assets will remain subdued for the time being.

In Seoul, top tech giant Samsung Electronics slid 0.19 per cent to 53,100 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 3.71 per cent to 168,500 won.

Financial shares also tumbled, with KB Financial falling 1.27 per cent to 85,800 won and Shinhan Financial moving down 1.23 per cent to 48,250 won.

Leading pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics also declined 1.98 per cent to 939,000 won, while Celltrion edged up 0.05 per cent to 192,500 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,451.4 won against the US dollar at 3:30 pm, up 0.5 won from the previous session.

The greenback remained high as the US posted stronger-than-expected economic growth of 3.1 per cent for the third quarter, compared with the previous estimate of 2.8 per cent.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 2.6 basis points to 2.629 per cent and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds gained 3.9 basis points to close at 2.775 per cent.

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