ANN/THE KOREA HERALD – South Korean stocks ended lower as the trade dispute between the United States (US) and China escalated, driven by Washington’s retaliatory tariff measures. Meanwhile, the Korean won strengthened against the US dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped by 12.34 points, or 0.5 per cent, closing at 2,432.72.
Trade volume was moderate at 361 million shares worth KRW7.61 trillion. Winners, however, beat losers 536 to 340.
Foreigners sold a net KRW688.5 billion worth of stocks, while individuals and institutions combined purchased a net KRW571.5 billion. Overnight, Wall Street, which rallied the previous session from US President Donald Trump’s pause on reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, plunged amid the intensifying tit-for-tat retaliatory tariff measures between Washington and Beijing.
The S&P 500 dropped 3.46 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.5 per cent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite tumbled 4.31 per cent.
“The tariff war dynamic has now shifted to a one-on-one standoff between the US and China,” said analyst at Kiwoom Securities Han Ji-young, while advising investors to monitor developments rather than make hasty sell decisions. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunged 2.13 per cent to KRW55,200, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix dropped 1.31 per cent to KRW180,800.
Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution plummeted 4.01 per cent to KRW335,000, and top automaker Hyundai Motor lost 5.08 per cent to end at KRW177,500.
Steel giant POSCO Holdings shed 2.3 per cent to end at KRW255,000 and SK Innovation retreated 4.79 per cent to KRW97,300.
The local currency was trading at KRW1,449.9 against the US dollar at 3.30pm, up KRW6.5 from the previous session.
