South Korean shares fall; won hits 5-month low after BOK flags more easing

Published on 10/23/2025 at 02:57 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 closed 1% lower on Thursday on foreign selling, while the won hit a more than five-month low as the central bank flagged more policy easing after holding interest rates steady.
** The won hit its weakest level since early May, while the benchmark bond yield rose.
** The benchmark KOSPI closed down 38.12 points, or 0.98%, at 3,845.56, snapping six straight sessions of gains.
** During the session, the KOSPI rose as much as 0.48% to hit an all-time high of 3,902.21, after the Bank of Korea governor said he did not see the domestic stock market over-valued, compared with global peers.
** "Investors negatively reacted to the governor's comment that recent weakness in the won was mostly due to uncertainty over trade talks, sparking a foreign selloff," said Park Kwang-nam, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
** The Bank of Korea kept policy interest rates unchanged, wary of worsening an overheating housing market and a declining currency, but left the door open for another cut.
** South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said trade negotiations with the U.S. were taking time due to differences in opinions but added that he believed a rational agreement was possible, in an interview with CNN.
** Among index heavyweights, chipmaker Samsung Electronics fell 2.13%, while peer SK Hynix lost 0.62%. Battery maker LG Energy Solution slid 1.54%.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 407.3 billion won ($286.53 million).
** The won was quoted 0.60% lower at 1,439.6 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, after hitting its weakest level since May 2 at 1,441.5.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield rose by 4.6 basis points to 2.605%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 2.9 basis points to 2.909%. ($1 = 1,421.4800 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

Sumber : Reuters