South Korean Shares Fall on Financial and Energy Losses

The benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.15% to around 3,191 on Friday, ending a two-day winning streak as weakness in financials and energy stocks offset signs of resilience in the domestic economy. Financials led declines as uncertainty over the Bank of Korea’s decision to hold rates at 2.5% while signaling possible cuts within three months raised concerns about banks’ lending margins, with notable declines from Shinhan Financial Group (-1.21%) and KB Financial Group (-0.18%). Energy counters also weakened after reports of a sweeping petrochemical sector restructuring that will trim naphtha-cracking capacity, dragging SI Resources (-3.05%) and SK Innovation (-1.17%) lower. Still, data showed the economy holding up, with industrial output rising 0.3% in July for a second month, retail sales jumping 2.5%, and facility investment rebounding 7.9% after four months of decline.