Slide in U.S. job market triggers Kospi sell-off

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Slide in U.S. job market triggers Kospi sell-off

Korea’s main bourse tumbled yesterday amid fears that disappointing U.S. job market data, combined with subprime loan worries, may spread to the wider economy. The Kospi declined 49.03 points, or 2.6 percent, to close at 1,835.87.
“U.S. stock losses on Friday seem to have sparked a selling spree among institutions and foreign investors,” said Kim Young-gak, an analyst at Hyundai Securities. U.S. equities tumbled Friday after the Labor Department’s report showed that payrolls in August fell by an estimated 4,000 people, marking a decline for the first time since August 2003. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 1.87 percent and the Nasdaq composite index declined 1.86 percent.
The nation’s top 10 blue chips were gloomy. Samsung Electronics fell 2.1 percent to 563,000 won ($600). The nation’s top steelmaker and shipbuilder, Posco and Hyundai Heavy Industries, stumbled 4.6 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively.
Financial shares performed poorly, too. Top lender Kookmin Bank dropped 1.2 percent, Shinhan Financial Group lost 2.3 percent and Woori Financial Group edged down 0.5 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor dipped 4.3 percent. Its chairman, Chung Mong-koo won a suspension of his prison sentence on Sept. 6, contingent upon his promise to donate 1 trillion won to charity.
Hynix, the world’s second-largest computer memory chip maker, climbed 0.5 percent after analysts’ assessments showed the share’s recent slump of up to 20 percent made it a good buy compared to other technology shares.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 638 to 136. Traded volume totaled 355.8 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won.
The tech-laden Kosdaq fell 15.13 points, or 1.9 percent, to end at 760.72. Traded volume was 597.9 million shares valued at 1.8 trillion won, with losing shares beating winning, 758 to 205.


By Seo Ji-eun Staff Writer [spring@joongang.co.kr]
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