SEOUL: South Korean shares slid to three-week lows by midday on Monday as concerns over Greece’s debt problems sapped appetite for riskier assets, and on fall in tourism-related stocks due to worries about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Also weighing on sentiment, data showed South Korean exports in May suffered their worst annual fall in nearly six years. But the data could pressure the central bank to cut interest sooner than expected.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.8 percent at 2,098.13 as of 0315 GMT, after falling as low as 2,086.00, its lowest since May 8. It closed at 2,114.80 on Friday.
Tourism-related stocks took a beating on concerns over decline in number of tourists coming to South Korea after China
said a 44-year-old South Korean man had tested positive for MERS.
“Investors will keep an eye on Greece debt issues closely in June, and MERS temporarily weighed on investors risk-on sentiment,” said Park Seok-hyun, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities. He noted that shares related to Chinese tourists underperformed.
Asiana Airlines Inc fell 5.7 percent due to recovering oil prices and concerns over declining travel demand.
AmorePacific Corp, a leading cosmetics firm in South Korea, was down 3.2 percent and Hotel Shilla Co Ltd shed 4.2 percent.
Foreign investors were poised to be net sellers, offloading a net 58 billion won ($52.2 million) worth of KOSPI shares by midday.
The South Korean won fell to a 10-week low early in the session as investors were wary of intervention by local exchange authorities to trim the won’s strength to the Japanese yen.
The won was down 0.3 percent at 1,111.7 per dollar, after touching as low as 1,114.7, the lowest level since March 23.
“The yen’s fall against the dollar and tepid export data are the factors of investors’ worries,” said Jeon Seung-Ji, a foreign-exchange analyst at Samsung Futures.
The won’s losses, however, will be limited by local exporters’ demand for month-end settlements, she added.
June futures on three-year treasury bonds were down 0.01 points at 109.37.
