PHOTO
Round-up of South Korean financial markets:
** South Korean shares fell by the most in over a month on Thursday, dragged down by heavyweight chipmakers as they tracked the sharp losses in their U.S. peers. The Korean won weakened more than 1%, while the benchmark bond yield fell.
** The benchmark KOSPI fell 34.55 points, or 1.39%, to close at 2,442.90. It marked the biggest daily loss since Oct. 13.
** Chipmakers led the losses. Samsung Electronics fell 2.07% and SK Hynix lost 4.15%, tracking a drop in the U.S. Philadelphia Semiconductor Index , as Micron Technology further cut its capital spending plan.
** "Lacking upside factors, the stock market continued its weak performance this week, with foreign selling and the won's weakness," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment and Securities.
** South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called Saudi Arabia a key economic partner, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Seoul. The Middle Eastern country signed over 20 investment agreements, worth about $30 billion in total, with South Korean companies.
** Among those, Hyundai Rotem jumped 5.45%, Lotte Fine Chemical gained 1.44%, while Samsung C&T ended down 3.61% after rising as much as 2.01% to a more than one-year high.
** S-Oil ended down 2.25%, reversing earlier gains of as much as 3.38%. Its largest shareholder Saudi Aramco said it plans a $7 billion investment at the South Korean affiliate's factory.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 382 billion won ($285.43 million) on the main board.
** The won ended 1.05% lower at 1,339.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, posting its worst daily performance since Oct. 11.
** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.02 points to 103.25.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield fell by 0.4 basis points to 3.799%, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell by 3.7 basis points to 3.854%. ($1 = 1,338.3300 won) (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Savio D'Souza)