Kospi and KRW lose another key threshold while bond yield curve inverts

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korean stocks turned weaker and the won slid to its fresh 13-year weakest versus the U.S. dollar while the bond yield curve mirrored the inversion in U.S. Treasuries in a harbinger of a recession in the making.

Korea¡¯s main Kospi lost 2.13 percent to close at 2,292.01 on Wednesday, sinking below the 2,300-mark for the first time in 20 months as foreign and domestic institutions renewed frantic selling on recession fears.

Tech-heavy Kosdaq finished 0.84 percent lower at 744.63.

Top 10 Kospi stocks, based on market capitalization, showed mixed moves. Samsung Electronics lost 1.4 percent, SK hynix 0.43 percent, Samsung Biologics 0.62 percent, and Hyundai Motor 2.82 percent, while LG Energy Solution added 2.49 percent, Naver 0.21 percent, and Kakao 2.08 percent.

On the upside, global oil prices eased as investors bet on a looming global slump that would translate into softened demand for fuel.

U.S West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for August ended down 8.2 percent at $99.50 per barrel, its first fall below $100 since May 11.

The Korean won renewed its slide after holding tough around 1,300 won.

[Photo by Yonhap]

The dollar shot up above 1,310 won for the first time since 1,315 won closing on July 13, 2009. It slightly eased to close Wednesday at 1,306.3 won.

The government bond yield has been inverting and flattening, a phenomenon when shorter-dated bonds yield goes higher than bonds of a duration of more than 10 years which happens when investors become fretful about a weakening or receding economy.

The three-year government bond yielded 3.283 percent by midday, a tad above the 20-year paper at 3.278 percent. Mirroring the movements in U.S. Treasuries, the two-year note was at 3.32 percent, nearly matching 3.33 percent of the 10-year yield.

Bond yields, which move in the opposite of price, have been coming down from 3.745 percent on June 17 - the highest since July 21, 2011 - for the three-year bond as investors took profit from their earlier bet on a 50 basis points hike in upcoming monetary policy meeting next Wednesday upon confirming the consumer price index rising by 6 percent – the steepest pace in 24 years – in June on Tuesday.

[¨Ï Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]