28-Month Low Set On Main Exchange

Seoul stocks took a beating for a second consecutive day Tuesday, as foreign investors dumped their holdings in Samsung Electronics Co. and banks, pushing the benchmark index to a 28-month low.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 6.25 points, or 1.26 percent, to 491.21, the lowest close since Dec. 5, 1998, when it hit 490.71. Trading volume was moderate at 297 million shares valued at 1.16 trillion won ($870 million).

The index opened higher, topping the 500-point mark on the overnight rebound on Wall Street, but lost ground in the afternoon, hit by heavy selling by foreign investors, who unloaded 133 billion won worth of shares.

Key semiconductor issues and bank shares were in negative territory after the foreign sell-off. Samsung Electronics Co. shed 1.9 percent to 182,000 won. Hynix Semiconductor Inc., formerly known as Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., sank 6.1 percent to a record low of 2,630 won. The debt-ridden chipmaker asked creditors to roll over loans of about $430 million due at the end of this month to avert a default.

Kookmin Bank slid 7.2 percent to 12,250 won, its lowest in five months, while its merger partner, H&CB, was off 6.6 percent at 19,000 won, a 10-month low. The planned marriage between the nation's two most profitable lenders has encountered rough going; H&CB adamantly opposes Kookmin's ideas for apportioning shares in the new bank.

Limiting the index's losses, SK Telecom Co. added 2.1 percent to 171,500 won on news that a high-ranking official from NTT DoCoMo Inc. visited Seoul, renewing hopes for the Japanese firm's equity investment in Korea's biggest mobile phone operator.

The Kosdaq market finished slightly lower amid a lack of market-moving issues. Its composite index edged down by a quarter of a point, or 0.38 percent, to end at 64.56. Volume was also moderate at 262 million shares worth 1.16 trillion won.

by Kim Hyun-chul