South Korea’s benchmark stock index fell 1.46% Monday as investors headed into a week of chipmaker earnings and a Federal Reserve rate decision, Yonhap reported.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 5,469.47, down 80.83 points. It opened 0.92% lower. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.23% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.21%, Yonhap reported.
Foreign investors sold a net 695.5 billion won in shares. Institutions bought a net 611 billion won, while individuals purchased a net 47 billion won. Yonhap reported that 190.46 million shares traded, valued at 12.01 trillion won ($9.08 billion); 790 stocks fell and 101 rose.
Most large-cap stocks ended lower. Samsung Electronics fell 1.16% to 213,000 won, and SK hynix slipped 0.16% to 1.28 million won. Hyundai Motor lost 2.54% to 288,000 won, while Hanwha Aerospace dropped 4.04% to 760,000 won. Jeju Air gained 0.96% to 5,250 won, and LG Display rose 2.38% to 7,320 won, Yonhap reported.
At 2:30 a.m. ET (06:30 UTC), the won was quoted at 1,323.1 per dollar, compared with 1,324.6 at the previous session’s close, Yonhap reported.
SK hynix is scheduled to report Wednesday, followed by Samsung Electronics on Thursday. The results may offer a read on demand for artificial intelligence chips and memory pricing, Yonhap reported.
The Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting begins Tuesday. Yonhap reported that the Fed is widely expected to keep its policy rate unchanged while inflation pressures persist.
