Cautious investors push Kospi back down again
The roller-coaster ride during the last few days took Seoul’s main stock market for a dip yesterday as it tumbled 31.73 points, or 1.7 percent, to end at 1,817.89.“Investors seem to have maintained a cautious stance due to concerns about the global credit crunch sparked by the recent U.S. subprime mortgage woes,” said Kim Young-gak, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
Fears of a global credit crunch emerged late last week when central banks in the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada injected liquidity into their banking systems due to soaring short-term market rates.
Most of the blue chips listed in the top 10 on the Kospi were down. Samsung Electronics lost 0.2 percent to 612,000 won ($656) and its domestic rival in computer memory chips, Hynix Semiconductor, fell 1.5 percent. But LG Electronics, Korea’s No. 2 electronics maker, advanced 0.8 percent.
Top steelmaker Posco slid 0.4 percent and the world’s largest shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, dropped 1.4 percent.
Other shipbuilding companies posted huge losses, too. Samsung Heavy Industries lost 4.3 percent, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering fell 6.5 percent and Doosan Heavy Industries sank 4.6 percent.
Among bank shares, Kookmin Bank gained 1.6 percent, but the rest declined. Shinhan Financial Group retreated 2.4 percent and Woori Financial Group edged down 0.2 percent.
SK Energy, Korea’s largest oil refiner, tumbled 8.7 percent. Declining shares outnumbered rising shares, 642 to 148.
Trade volume totaled 399.6 million shares worth 5.7 trillion won.
The secondary Kosdaq dipped 19.28 points, or 2.5 percent, to 766.92. Losers outnumbered winners, 739 to 214. Total traded volume was 640.4 million shares, valued at 2.1 trillion won.
By Seo Ji-eun Staff Writer [spring@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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