South Korean shares end lower as auto, battery sectors drag

SEOUL, April 20 (Reuters) – Round-up of South Korean financial markets:

** South Korean shares closed lower on Thursday, as market heavyweights automakers and battery manufacturers dropped after U.S. electric-vehicle giant Tesla’s first-quarter results came in below expectations.

** The Korean won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield rose.

** The benchmark KOSPI .KS11 ended down 11.97 points, or 0.46%, at 2,563.11, marking its second day of fall in last 10 sessions after Tuesday’s 0.19% drop.

** “Each sector traded on its own issues, with the rechargeable battery sector weighed down by profit-taking pressure from continuous gains,” said analyst Lee Kyoung-min at Daishin Securities.

** Tesla Inc TSLA.O boss Elon Musk on Wednesday doubled down on the price war he started at the end of last year, after the company reported a quarterly gross margin that was the lowest in two years and below analysts’ estimates.

** Battery maker LG Energy Solution 373220.KS fell 0.34%, while peers Samsung SDI 006400.KS and SK Innovation 096770.KS dropped 1.19% and 1.12%, respectively.

** Hyundai Motor 005380.KS lost 0.57%, and its sister automaker Kia Corp 000270.KS fell 1.52%.

** Of the total 932 issues traded, 233 shares rose.

** Foreigners were net buyers of shares worth 156.1 billion won ($118.10 million).

** The won ended onshore trade KRW=KFTC at 1,322.8 per dollar, 0.22% higher than its previous close.

** It rose towards the end of the session, after falling as much as 0.50% earlier to hit a near five-month low of 1,332.3.

** In money and debt markets, June futures on three-year treasury bonds KTBc1 rose 0.06 point to 104.76.

** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield was flat at 3.333%, while the benchmark 10-year yield rose by 3.1 basis points to 3.401%.

($1 = 1,321.8100 won)

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))