Kospi takes beating with year’s 1st sidecar
The Kospi plunged 71.34 points to 1111.34 yesterday.[YONHAP]
Korean stocks plunged 6.03 percent yesterday as investor sentiment took a beating. “Concerns over global banking sectors and worsening earnings outlooks sent the local key stock index sharply lower,” said Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities. “A selling spree by foreign investors weighed on the market.”
But Kwak said that despite sharp losses, the Kospi is not likely to see a downward trend as bleak corporate earnings and weak economic fundamentals have already been factored into the market to some degree.
Steep losses caused the Korea Exchange to suspend program trading for five minutes after the main index futures prices fell more than 5 percent. It was the first such emergency break, or sidecar, this year.
Foreign investors dumped a net 181 billion won worth of local stocks on the main bourse. Korea’s fourth-quarter earnings reports will be released starting Thursday, led by steelmaker Posco. The world’s No. 4 steelmaker, whose shares dipped 5.3 percent, plans to report its bottom line after the market’s close. The nation’s top electronics maker, Samsung Electronics, plunged 6.1 percent to 459,500 won. Other industry leaders also nose-dived. Hyundai Heavy Industries was down 9.6 percent, while Hyundai Motor fell 10.4 percent.
Financial shares lost ground on worries that bleak corporate earnings would weigh on banks’ balance sheets. KB Financial Group, the holding company of Kookmin Bank, tumbled 9.2 percent, and its rival Shinhan Finance Holdings declined 6.3 percent. Woori Finance Holdings sank 11.1 percent. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering nose-dived 12.7 percent after state-run Korea Development Bank, its main creditor, rejected a call by Hanwha Group, the preferred bidder, to partially sell its stake in the shipbuilder. Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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