Market Off Slightly On Foreign Selling

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Market Off Slightly On Foreign Selling

Seoul share prices closed slightly lower Thursday, hit by heavy selling by foreign investors amid worries over the slowing U.S. economy and falling semiconductor prices.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, dipped 0.19 points to 595.53, after seesawing between 599.76 and 589.46.

Trading volume dropped to 401.6 million shares valued at 1.9 trillion won ($1.5 billion), compared with 437 million shares Wednesday.

Advancing issues outnumbered retreaters 402 to 386, with 65 other stocks unchanged. Twenty-four shares jumped by the daily limit of 15 percent, while two stocks were down by that limit.

Recouping earlier losses, the Kospi attempted to land in positive territory in the last hour but fell back on continued foreign selling, analysts said. Overseas investors unloaded shares worth 133.3 billion won.

Weighing down the index, Samsung Electronics Co. shed 1 percent to 198,000 won, its lowest in about two months, on falling global chip prices. Hyundai Motor Co., which led the market's recent ascent, edged down 0.2 percent to end at 28,650 won.

Shares of healthy banks, including Kookmin Bank, H&CB and Shinhan Bank, were also weak.

Hynix Semiconductor Inc. gained 1.2 percent to 3,305 won, following a six-day losing streak after the debt-ridden chipmaker issued stocks overseas at a 25 percent discount.

SK Telecom also helped prevent the index's further slide, closing up 4 percent at 210,000 won on its share buyback program.

The mobile phone operator, which has lost some 20 percent of its value this year, bought back more than 200,000 shares from the market to prop up its stock price.

The Kosdaq market remained almost unchanged amid a lack of market-moving news or shares. Its composite index slipped 0.01 point, or 0.01 percent, to 78.82 on volume of 291.6 million shares, the lowest since April 10.

KT Freetel dropped 1.2 percent to 37,800 won and Kookmin Credit Card Co. sank 3.1 percent to 35,000 won.




by Kim Hyun-chul

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