Markets freeze before Fed announcement
Foreign investors, which were net sellers for eight consecutive days, turned around as net buyers. However, the purchasing did not translate into a rebound of the Korean markets on Wednesday.There were no huge movements as investors were waiting for the results of the Federal Reserve meeting ending Wednesday, U.S. time, according to a Korea Exchange report.
The Kospi remained nearly unchanged after dipping 0.07 percent or 1.48 points from the previous trade to close at 2,037.62.
The secondary Kosdaq fell for its fourth consecutive trading day, ending at 730.47, down 1.98 percent.
Large-cap shares led the upward movements. Samsung Electronics rose 2.68 percent to close at 1,263,000 won ($1,091) and leading cosmetics company AmorePacific added 2.92 percent to 423,500 won.
Pharmaceutical companies plunged. Hanmi Pharmaceutical plummeted 18.35 percent to close at 445,000 won despite its better-than-ever earnings report for the second quarter. Its affiliate Hanmi Science also lost, down 19.83 percent to 137,500 won. Daewoong Pharmaceuticals tumbled 9.8 percent to 90,200 won and Daehwa Pharmaceutical sank 21.57 percent to 32,000 won.
Komipharm International, once ranked in the top ten by market cap on the Kosdaq, jumped again after CEO Yang Yong-jin decided to reverse his Monday decision to resign. The stock soared 8.71 percent to close at 15,600 won after plummeting for two consecutive days.
The won climbed 0.5 percent, the most since June 30, to close at 1,158.61 a dollar in Seoul Wednesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The currency has declined 3.7 percent this month, the most in Asia.
“Exporters may hasten dollar sales as the won recovers some ground,” said Kim Dong-wook, a currency trader at Kookmin Bank. “Overseas investors seem to think it’s time to profit as the won’s recent drop was too rapid.”
Korea’s three-year government bonds rose, with the yield declining one basis point to 1.73 percent, Korea Exchange prices showed. The 10-year yield fell two basis points to 2.37 percent.
BY CHOI JEONG-PIL, BLOOMBERG [ebusiness@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)