Roundup: S. Korean shares fall on China's export fall
Xinhua, September 8, 2015 Adjust font size:
South Korean shares ended in negative territory Tuesday as exports declined in China, South Korea's largest trading partner.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 4.54 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,878.68 at the close. Trading volume stood at 386.24 million shares worth 4.68 trillion won (3.9 billion U.S. dollars).
The KOSPI, which took off a strong start, turned into negative terrain right after the announcement of export data in China.
Exports of the world's second-largest economy fell 6.1 percent in August from a year earlier. It recovered from an 8.9-percent decline in July.
Uncertainties remained about the timing of the U.S. interest hike. The Federal Reserve is widely forecast to hike its policy rate by the end of this year for the first time since the global financial crisis.
South Korea's finance ministry picked uncertainties in China and the United States as negative risk factors facing the South Korean economy, saying in its monthly economic report that it will closely monitor possible negative effect from those factors.
Foreigners remained net sellers for 24 trading days in a row, keeping the second-longest selling trend. They sold a net 249 billion won worth of local stocks.
Retail investors and local financial institutions bought shares worth 21 billion won and 176 billion won each.
Most large-cap shares gained ground. Top mobile operator SK Telecom surged 4.8 percent, and market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 1.8 percent.
Auto shares moved upward on expectations for earnings increase thanks to the South Korean currency's weakness to the dollar. Top automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 3 percent, and its affiliate Kia Motors rose 1.4 percent. The biggest auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis climbed 1.9 percent.
Leading cosmetics maker Amore Pacific declined 3.9 percent, and the most-used search engine Naver slumped 2.7 percent. The state- run power supplier Korea Electric Power Corp. lost 1.9 percent.
The South Korean currency finished at 1,200.9 won against the greenback, up 2.8 won from Monday's close.
Bond prices ended lower. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes rose 1.7 basis points to 1.668 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bonds added 0.3 basis point to 2.227 percent. Endi