Market slips a notch after real estate delay
Seoul’s main stock market closed 0.1 percent lower yesterday as investors took profits, disappointed with the government’s delay in easing regulations on the real estate market, analysts said.Reversing earlier gains, the benchmark Kospi fell 1.36 points to 1,179.61.
Volume was moderate at 431 million shares worth 4.54 trillion won ($3.46 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 435 to 368.
“The Seoul bourse turned weaker as investors’ hopes for the government’s announcement to boost the real estate market were dashed,” said Bae Sung-young, an analyst at Hyundai Securities. “A weaker won also chilled investor sentiment.”
Ending a five-day winning streak, the Korean currency ended at 1,309 won, down 19 won from Friday’s close, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services. It has dropped 29 percent this year, Asia’s worst performance.
Hopes of a year-end rally boosted the Kospi above the 1,200 mark at one point in the morning session. It was the first time in more than one month that the key index traded above that level.
But investors dumped shares like builders after the land ministry’s property deregulation measures fell short of market expectations, analysts said.
Top construction firm Daewoo Engineering and Construction fell 0.4 percent and its rival Hyundai Engineering and Construction shed 1.8 percent.
Tech bellwether Samsung Electronics declined 0.7 percent to 486,000 won and chip giant Hynix Semiconductor lost 3.6 percent.
Korea Electric Power slid 3.6 percent. The country’s biggest state-run utility said in a statement yesterday it will eliminate 2,420 jobs by 2012 to reduce costs. The company said in October it expects a loss of 1.25 trillion won in 2008, its first loss in its 26-year history, because of surging oil and coal costs this year and the falling won.
Hyundai Motor gained 1 percent. The stock has fallen 36 percent this year, compared with a 38 percent decline in Korea’s Kospi index. Kia dropped 3.1 percent yesterday.
The secondary Kosdaq index climbed 3.59 points to 346.04. Volume stood at 644.5 million shares, valued at 1.37 trillion won. Yonhap, Bloomberg
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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