Index slips amid geopolitical tension
The benchmark Kospi closed at 2,368.39, down 26.34 points, or 1.10 percent, from the previous trading day. This was the first time the index fell below the 2,370-level in seven weeks.
Foreign investors offloaded 258.1 billion won ($227.2 million) in shares and retail investors sold 87.9 billion won worth. Institutional investors, on the other hand, bought 309.4 billion won in shares.
“Tensions between North Korea and the United States weighed on the main index,” said Ryu Yong-seok, a market analyst at KB Securities.
On Wednesday, North Korea’s military said it is considering missile strikes near the U.S. territory of Guam, warning that it is ready to stage an all-out war if Washington launches a preventive war against it.
Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said North Korea risks are to blame for the decline in the main index.
Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor was up 1.39 percent to 146,000 won, and top steelmaker Posco advanced 0.59 percent to 339,500 won. Meanwhile, market bellwether Samsung Electronics backtracked 3.02 percent to 2,314,000 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix was down 3.17 percent to 64,200 won.
Portal service provider Naver fell 1.48 percent to 798,000 won and Samsung C&T plummeted 2.89 percent to close at 134,500 won.
The secondary Kosdaq closed at 642.87, down 8.80 points, or 1.35 percent, from the previous trading day.
Celltrion fell 0.91 percent to 108,400 won and CJ E&M dropped 0.98 percent to 71,000 won.
The local currency was trading at 1,135.20 won against the U.S. dollar, down 10.10 won from the previous session’s close.
BY KIM YOUNG-NAM, YONHAP [kim.youngnam@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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