Kospi tanks 1.28% as Wall Street takes tariff pummeling

A screen in Hana Bank’s trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi closing at 2,537.60 points on March 11, down 32.79 points, or 1.28 percent, from the previous trading session.[YONHAP]

Shares finished over 1 percent lower Tuesday, following overnight losses on Wall Street spurred by U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats. The local currency fell in value against the greenback.

The Kospi dropped 32.79 points, or 1.28 percent, to close at 2,537.60. The Kosdaq fell 4.32 points, or 0.60 percent, to 721.50.

Trade volume was moderate at 370.3 million shares worth 9.47 trillion won ($6.5 billion), with losers outpacing winners 730 to 179.

Foreign and institutional investors together sold a net 597.7 billion won, while retail investors bought a net 491.9 billion won.

Overnight, U.S. stock markets plummeted after Trump shared his intent to push forward with high tariff policies in an interview with Fox News.

The S&P 500 dipped 2.7 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.08 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 4 percent.

“U.S. officials have signaled that the Trump administration intends to push forward with its tariff policies without any adjustments,” Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset & Securities, said while assessing the steep overnight losses on Wall Street.

In Seoul, major shares lost ground.

Samsung Electronics dropped 0.19 percent to 53,600 won, and battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution plummeted 2.43 percent.

Bio and automotive shares also retreated, with Samsung Biologics falling 1.39 percent to 1,068,000 won and Hyundai Motor dropping 0.91 percent to 195,600 won.

Defense firm and shipyard shares also ended in negative terrain. Hanwha Aerospace slumped 3.42 percent to 678,000 won, and Hanwha Ocean fell 2.26 percent to 78,000 won.

Steelmaker Posco Holdings shed 4.51 percent to 296,500 won.

Finance shares also dropped. KB Financial fell 1.4 percent to 77,400 won, and Shinhan Financial dropped 1.32 percent to 45,000 won.

The local currency was trading at 1,458.2 won against the dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 5.9 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended lower. Three-year government bonds yield fell 3.3 basis points to 2.561 percent, while the return on the benchmark 10-year U.S. government bonds dropped 8.5 basis points to 4.212 percent.