Kospi, Kosdaq continue to fall as investors sell

Both the Kospi and the tech-heavy Kosdaq suffered heavily on Thursday as foreign investors continued to offload their holdings.

The Kospi dropped to its lowest in two months after it lost 12.39 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,461.98. It was the second consecutive day the Kospi fell. The last time the primary market’s index was at this level was on Oct. 11, when it closed at 2,458.16.

The secondary Kosdaq market struggled more as it reported a bearish rally for the fourth consecutive day, dropping below the 760 mark. The Kosdaq lost 14.93 points or 1.94 percent to close at 753.46. During the day it fell as much as 3.1 percent, falling even below 750. Both foreign and institutional investors were selling off their shares.

The Kosdaq, which has been enjoying a bullish rally in the last two months, moving up more than 100 points, has started to suffer entering this month.

The Korea Exchange saw Thursday’s retreat resulting from the government delaying its announcement on policies that would boost the Kosdaq market including more active investment participation by the nation’s largest institutional investors, the National Pension Service. The financial authority earlier announced that the measure would include a plan where the NPS will be increasing its investment on the Kosdaq from the current 2 percent of all its investment on stock portfolio to 10 percent. The measures that were to be announced this month was reported to have been pushed back to January.

Celltrion, No. 1 by market cap on the Kosdaq, has been seeing its shares fall for four consecutive days. It closed at 194,000 won ($176) after falling 3.63 percent. In the last four days the biopharmaceutical company’s shares have fallen 8 percent.

Celltrion Healthcare, which ranks No. 2 on the Kosdaq, dived 8.7 percent to close at 74,100 won. In the past four days its shares have plummeted 17 percent.

Stocks on the primary market also suffered, particularly petroleum shares, biopharmaceutical and shipbuilders.

SK Innovation shares fell 2.6 percent to close at 202,500 won, while Samsung Biologics saw a sharper drop at 4.5 percent to close at 329,000 won. Samsung Heavy Industries’ shares were 4 percent lower while Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shares declined 4.9 percent.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics’ shares, meanwhile, rose 1.44 percent to close at 2,537,000 won.

The won appreciated against the greenback, as it was 0.2 won less than Wednesday’s, at 1,093.5 won.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]

korea joongAng daily

Home > >

Kospi, Kosdaq continue to fall as investors sell

Related Stories

You might also like