Shares dip for fifth straight day as Fed concerns continue

Korean shares fell for a fifth straight day amid Fed rate concerns, with Samsung and SK Telecom declining.

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,535.93 points on Monday, down 8.35 points, or 0.33 percent, from the previous trading session. [YONHAP]

Shares ended lower Monday, extending their losing streak to a fifth day, amid concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve might not cut rates by a large margin. The won traded sharply lower against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi lost 8.35 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 2,535.93.

Trading volume was moderate at 262.46 million shares worth 7.3 trillion won ($5.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 502 to 371.

Foreigners sold a net 540 billion won worth of stocks, exceeding institutions' and individuals' stock purchases valued at 514 billion won.

Weaker-than-expected employment data from August weighed on investor sentiment ahead of the Fed's rate decision slated for release later this month. Investors remain focused on next week's inflation data for a final clue on the U.S. central bank's monetary policy.

In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.

Samsung Electronics fell 2 percent to 67,500 won, wireless service provider SK Telecom declined 2.3 percent to 56,500 won, LG Chem slid 0.6 percent to 309,500 won and state utility Korea Electric Power Corporation sank 0.7 percent to 21,750 won.

Financial shares traded bearish as well, with KB Financial falling 1.20 percent to 82,300 won and Shinhan Financial Group down 1.75 percent to 56,100 won.

Among gainers, chipmaker SK hynix rose 0.4 percent to 157,000 won, carmaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.9 percent to 229,500 won, cosmetics firm Amorepacific jumped 6.4 percent to 139,300 won and battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 1.1 percent to 399,500 won.

The local currency traded at 1,339.80 won against the dollar as of 3:30 p.m., up 12.2 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed mixed. The yield on three-year government bonds gained 1.6 basis points to 2.899 percent, and the return on the benchmark U.S. 10-year government bond fell 2.0 basis points to 3.709 percent.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN, YONHAP [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]