Kospi slumps for second day in a row

Stocks retreated for the second straight session Thursday, as U.S. Federal Reserve minutes stoked concerns that the Fed may push harsher-than-expected rate hikes.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,920.53 points on Thursday, down 33.44 points, or 1.13 percent, from the previous trading day. [NEWS1]

Stocks retreated for the second straight session Thursday, as U.S. Federal Reserve minutes stoked concerns that the Fed may push harsher-than-expected rate hikes. The won fell against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi fell 33.44 points, or 1.13 percent, to close at 2,920.53 points.

Trading volume was moderate at about 774 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($10.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 665 to 223.

Institutions sold a net 483 billion won, while foreigners bought 181 billion won and retail investors purchased 282 billion won.

Stocks got off to a lackluster start, tracking the overnight Wall Street tech plunge.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 3.34 percent overnight and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.07 percent amid concerns that higher interest rates could reduce corporate margins.

The Fed's minutes also accelerated the depreciation of the local currency against the dollar.

"Stocks were largely influenced by concerns that the Fed could reveal a more hawkish tapering policy than previously expected. The tapering concerns also fanned worries that liquidity in dollar markets may decrease," KB Securities analyst Ha In-hwan said.

Samsung Electronics lost 0.65 percent to 76,900 won, and chipmaker SK hynix decreased 0.4 percent to 125,000 won.

Internet portal operator Naver slumped 4.65 percent to 338,500 won, and Kakao shed 5.21 percent to 100,000 won.

Pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics slumped 2.67 percent to 838,000 won, and Celltrion dropped 3.47 percent to 181,000 won.

LG Chem increased 3.92 percent to 690,000 won, and steelmaker Posco jumped 3.05 percent to 304,500 won.

KakaoBank advanced 0.72 percent to 56,000 won, and Kakao Pay fell 3.8 percent to 152,000 won.

The local currency closed at 1,201 won against the dollar, up 4.1 won from the previous session, marking the weakest closing since July 24, 2020.

The Kosdaq lost 29.32 points, or 2.9 percent, to close at 980,30.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year government bonds soared 9.7 basis points to 2.01 percent, and the return on the benchmark 10-year government bond rose 5.4 basis points to 1.7 percent.

BY LEE TAE-HEE, YONHAP [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]