[May 23, 2013] Roundup: S. Korean shares fall on Bernanke speech Tweet SEOUL, May 23, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- South Korean shares fell on Thursday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at scaling back its bond purchases within this year. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 24. 64 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 1,969.19. Trading volume stood at 338.16 million shares worth 4.53 trillion won (4 billion U.S. dollars). The key index started lower, and extended its earlier loss throughout the session after Wall Street shed overnight due to the Bernanke speech. The U.S. top central banker said at a parliamentary testimony that the scaling-back of bond purchases could happen in next few meetings depending on the economic data. According to the Fed minutes from its latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a number of participants expressed willingness to reduce quantitative easing in June, though officials differed on what evidence should be needed to exit from bond purchases. During the trading, negative economic data from China added pressures on market sentiment. China's purchasing managers' index retreated to 49.6 in May, falling below the benchmark 50 in seven months. The reading below 50 indicates contraction in the manufacturing sector. Stocks in Japan plunged around 7 percent, the most since the deadly earthquake in March 2011. Bank of Japan injected 2 trillion yen (19.4 billion U.S. dollars) into its financial system, leading a surge in government bonds. Financial companies in Japan, which kept large holdings of Japanese government bonds, fell sharply, leading the drop in the Japanese stock market. Among large-cap stocks, decliners outnumbered gainers. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 1.7 percent despite the announcement that global sales of Galaxy S4 topped the 10 million mark in less than a month. Top steelmaker POSCO slid 0.3 percent, and the nation's biggest auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis dipped 1 percent. The nation's No.1 life insurer Samsung Life Insurance declined 1 percent, and leading chemical firm LG Chem sank 3.6 percent. Auto and telecom shares gained ground. Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.3 percent, and its affiliate Kia Motors advanced 0.4 percent. The nation's biggest wireless carrier SK Telecom gained 3 percent, and smaller rival KT Corp. climbed 0.9 percent. The local currency finished at 1,128.7 won against the greenback, down 14.7 won from Wednesday's close. Bond prices ended steady. The yield on the liquid three-year treasury notes finished unchanged at 2.61 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds closed flat at 2.7 percent. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]