South Korean shares fall on Fed comments; financials drop

Published on 09/24/2025 at 03:22 am EDT

• KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
• Korean won weakens against dollar
• South Korea benchmark bond yield rises

(Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares fell on Wednesday following mixed signals from the U.S. on interest rate cuts, while financial stocks also slumped on concerns over domestic market reforms.
** Benchmark KOSPI closed down 14.05 points, or 0.40%, at 3,472.14, after hitting a record high on Tuesday.
** Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the bank needed to continue balancing the competing risks of high inflation and a weakening job market, while St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said the central bank "should tread cautiously".
** "Powell also said stock markets were seen overvalued, which triggered weakness in the domestic market as well," said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.
** "Investor sentiment also weakened on news that (South Korean) parliamentary discussions about a third revision to the Commercial Act might be delayed to next year," Lee said.
** Heavyweight financials fell 1.39%, while securities firms dropped 3.24%. They had been leading the KOSPI's record-setting rally this year on President Lee Jae Myung's "KOSPI 5,000" initiative.
** Chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 0.83%, but peer SK Hynix lost 0.97%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 2.52%.
** Hyundai Motor was down 0.68% and sister automaker Kia Corp was up 0.19%. Steelmaker POSCO Holdings shed 0.72%, while drugmaker Samsung BioLogics rose 0.97%.
** Of the total 928 traded issues, 194 shares advanced, while 686 declined.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 251.6 billion won ($180.09 million).
** The won was quoted at 1,397.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.25% lower than previous close.
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds lost 0.10 point to 107.13.
** The most-liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose 3.1 basis points to 2.491%, while benchmark 10-year yield rose 3.6 bps to 2.847%. ($1 = 1,397.1100 won)
 (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair) 

Sumber : Reuters