U.S. auto jitters send Kospi into a 3% dip
The Kospi and the won-dollar exchange rate flash behind a dealer at Korea Exchange Bank in central Seoul yesterday. [YONHAP]
The benchmark Kospi tumbled 40.05 points to 1,197.46, more than wiping out gains booked last week. Volume was moderate at 520.2 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won ($3.45 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 687 to 178.
“The rising possibility of U.S. carmakers’ bankruptcies battered the local stock market amid profit-taking,” said Bae Sung-young, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.
Foreign investors turned net sellers, weighing down the key index, following their nine-session buying streak.
Bank shares took the heaviest beating with KB Financial Group, which controls top lender Kookmin Bank, sinking 6.6 percent, and Shinhan Financial Group, the parent of Shinhan Bank, tumbling 9 percent. Shipbuilders and automakers also lost substantial ground. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s biggest shipmaker, shed 5.7 percent.
Hyundai Motor, Korea’s biggest automaker, closed down 3.81 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors plunged 5.2 percent. Market leader Samsung Electronics fell 2.91 percent to 567,000 won.
The secondary Kosdaq market closed at 411.95, down 9.29 points. The volume stood at 594.4 million shares, valued at 1.56 trillion won. Gene Bio Tech, a producer of soy peptides and metabolic-enhancing materials, sank 14 percent after the company said its profit plunged. Gene Bio profit slumped 90 percent to 302.63 million won ($220,552) last year after sales declined 5.7 percent to 13.51 billion won. Hyundai Digital Technology, a maker of compact disc players and other electronics products, declined 4.8 percent. The company said it posted a 12.74 billion won loss in 2008. The company had a 1.56 billion won profit in 2007. Yonhap, Bloomberg
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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