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South Korean shares end lower as auto, battery sectors drag

April 20, 2023By Reuters

KOSPI falls, foreigners net buyers

Korean won strengthens against dollar

South Korea benchmark bond yield rises

For the midday report, please click nL1N36N03V

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;))

This article originally appeared on reuters.com

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