*
KOSPI falls, foreigners net sellers
*
Korean won weakens against dollar
*
South Korea benchmark bond yield rises
SEOUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean
financial markets:
** South Korean shares dropped more than 1% on Wednesday,
tracking Wall Street losses overnight on fears of more interest
rate hikes by the U.S Federal Reserve. The Korean won weakened,
while the benchmark bond yield rose.
** The benchmark KOSPI fell 39.08 points, or 1.59%,
to 2,419.88 as of 0220 GMT. The sharp drop follows two straight
sessions of marginal moves.
** S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which
tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, increased to 50.2
this month from a final reading of 46.8 in January, ending a run
of seven straight months below the 50 mark.
** The U.S. Federal Reserve is due to release the minutes of
its latest policy meeting later in the day, while the Bank of
Korea is expected to hold its policy rate steady on Thursday.
** "Investor sentiment fell apart at once on worries that
there might be another rate hike by the U.S. Fed after March and
May," said Huh Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment and
Securities.
** Technology giant Samsung Electronics fell
1.61%, peer SK Hynix lost 2.52%, and battery maker
LG Energy Solution declined 1.92%.
** Of the total 935 issues traded, only 128 advanced.
** Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 119.5 billion
won ($91.59 million).
** The won was quoted 0.60% lower at 1,303.7 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform , after hitting a two-month low of 1,306.2.
** In money and debt markets, March futures on three-year
treasury bonds fell 0.16 point to 103.57.
** The most liquid three-year Korean treasury bond yield
rose by 4.5 basis points to 3.669%, while the benchmark 10-year
yield rose by 6.4 basis points to 3.664%.
($1 = 1,304.7800 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee
Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
