Kospi breaks four-day streak, falls 8.39 points
Korea’s main bourse edged down yesterday, burdened by a four-day winning streak. The benchmark Kospi closed at 1,791.33, down 8.39 points, or 0.5 percent.“Investors seemed to be feeling burdened by recent rallies in which the index rose nearly 10 percent over the past four days,” said Kim Young-gak, an analyst at Hyundai Securities. “Overnight losses in the U.S. market also weighed on sentiment as some investors saw an end to upswings.”
Blue chips mostly fell. Samsung Electronics dropped 2.2 percent to 586,000 won ($622) on news that the company plans to cut workers in its semiconductor division by more than 100. Among high-tech firms, Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s second-largest maker of computer memory chips, tumbled 3.1 percent. LG.Philips LCD, a leading display maker, fell 1.9 percent as foreign investors unloaded shares.
While the No. 1 lender Kookmin Bank gained 0.5 percent, Shinhan Financial Group and Woori Financial Group remained unchanged. Hana Financial Group lost 0.7 percent.
Posco slid 2.1 percent. The world’s largest shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, retreated 0.6 percent, whereas the No. 2 player, Samsung Heavy Industries, advanced 1.6 percent. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering also added 0.4 percent.
SK Energy, the oil-refining arm of SK Group, jumped 3.1 percent after local securities firms upgraded the stock to a buy rating, citing its expanding exploration and production business.
Losing shares outnumbered winning shares, 433 to 342. Traded volume totaled 368.6 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won.
The junior Kosdaq slid 2.11 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 754.16. Total traded volume was 675.6 million shares valued at 2.2 trillion won, with decliners beating advancers, 491 to 426.
By Seo Ji-eun Staff Writer [spring@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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