South Korean shares fell on Tuesday morning, with investors reluctant to make aggressive bets amid tensions between Greece and its euro zone creditors.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 0.37 per cent at 1,939.80 points as of 0245 GMT, dipping below the index’s 60-day moving average of 1,940.63 points.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had on Sunday ruled out an extension of Greece’s bailout terms and said he would roll back some of the austerity measures imposed by lenders as part of Greece’s debt conditions.
Share losses were broad-based, with 15 out of the 17 major industry sub-indices tracked by the main bourse in negative territory. Losing shares outnumbered winners nearly 2 to 1.
Energy counters were one of the few bright spots in the sluggish market after oil prices rallied overnight, with SK Innovation gaining 1.5 per cent, while LG Chem rose 1.4 percent.
KOSDAQ-listed Daum Kakao Corp climbed 2.8 per cent after saying it would enter the Chinese mobile gaming market through its subsidiary in China.
The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks was down 0.38 per cent, while the junior, tech-heavy KOSDAQ edged lower by 0.12 per cent.
The South Korean won firmed on Tuesday, eyeing movements in the yen as the Japanese currency strengthened on safe-haven demand.
Further weighing on dollar/won was South Korean finance minister Choi Kyung-hwan’s optimistic view of the economy, as well as hints that the monetary policy was at an adequate, maintainable level.
“The feeling that the possibility of a rate cut has all but evaporated is spreading across the market, making it difficult to go long on the dollar against the won,’’ said a foreign exchange dealer based in Seoul.
Bond futures plunged on Choi's comments as some market participants had positioned themselves for further policy easing, with three-year benchmark futures falling 24 basis points to trade at 108.47.