(2nd LEAD) Seoul shares dip over 1 pct ahead of earnings reports, Fed decision

Seoul's stock market experienced a decline on Monday, following a similar trend on Wall Street, as cautious investors awaited key earnings reports and the Federal Reserve's rate decision. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended the day down 80.83 points, or 1.46 percent, at 5,469.47, after opening 0.92 percent lower.

Trade volume was relatively light with 190.46 million shares exchanged for a total value of 12.01 trillion won. Disappointingly, the number of declining stocks far exceeded the number of advancers by a margin of 790 to 101.

Investors are closely monitoring the earnings reports from SK hynix, scheduled for Wednesday, and Samsung Electronics, scheduled for Thursday. These reports are expected to provide insights into the outlook for artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand and memory prices. Additionally, market participants are eagerly awaiting the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which begins Tuesday. Expectations are high that the central bank will maintain interest rates unchanged, despite persistent inflationary pressures.

Foreign investors played a role in the market's performance, with foreigners selling a net 695.5 billion won worth of stocks. Meanwhile, institutions and individuals made net purchases of 611 billion won and 47 billion won, respectively. Notable decliners included the top carmaker Hyundai Motor, which fell 2.54 percent to 288,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace, which declined 4.04 percent to 760,000 won.

Conversely, budget carrier Jeju Air and LG Display emerged as gainers, rising by 0.96 percent to 5,250 won and 2.38 percent to 7,320 won, respectively. As of 3:30 p.m., the Korean won was trading at 1,323.1 won against the U.S. dollar, a slight improvement from the previous session's closing rate of 1,324.6 won. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, also saw an upward trend, with the yield on three-year Treasurys dropping 1.4 basis points to 3.789 percent, and the return on benchmark five-year government bonds declining 1.6 basis points to 3.932 percent.