Declines on Kospi hit all of Korea’s industries
Shares of companies in the medical precision industry on average dropped more than 6 percent compared to the previous day, while paper and lumber fell 5.67 percent. Electronics shares were down 4.74 percent while semiconductor and related equipment shares retreated 4.45 percent. Steel and metal, construction and banks all fell more than 4 percent. Automobile shares were down 3 percent while telecommunications and insurance fell more than 2 percent.
The benchmark Kospi plummeted 98.94 points, or 4.44 percent, to close at 2,129.67.
Trading volume was heavy at 404.3 million shares worth 8.2 trillion won ($7.17 billion).
Losers overwhelmed winners by 865 to 23 with 11 stocks remaining unchanged.
The Kospi has been on a losing streak for eight consecutive trading days as foreign investors continued dumping shares.
Foreign investors sold more than 483 billion won worth of stocks, nearly double the 230 billion won sold on Wednesday.
Retail and institutional investors were net buyers.
Most of the top stocks fell including market bellwether Samsung Electronics, which closed 43,100 won on Thursday, down 4.86 percent.
No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix fell 1.85 percent to 69,000 won.
Samsung BioLogics, Samsung’s bio-pharmaceutical unit, slid 4.3 percent to 467,000 won, and Celltrion retreated 5.24 percent to 271,500 won.
KB Financial Group, a leading banking company, moved down 4.69 percent to 52,800 won, and Shinhan Financial Group decreased 4.88 percent to 43,900 won.
Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 3.33 percent to 116,000 won and its sister Kia Motors dropped 2.22 percent to 33,100 won.
Mobile carrier SK Telecom sank 5.26 percent to 270,000 won and KT fell 3.33 percent to 29,000 won. LG U+ dropped 3.71 percent to 16,850 won.
The secondary Kosdaq also fell 40.12 points or 5.37% to close at 707.38 points. The tech and bio-heavy index was dragged down by a 4.5 percent decline in the U.S. Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
The Korean won closed at 1,144.40 won against the U.S. dollar, up 10.40 won from the previous trading session. Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. The yield on three-year bonds fell 4.7 basis points to 2.01 percent, and the return on 10-year bonds dropped 5.2 basis points to 2.36 percent.
BY CHAE YUN-HWAN, YONHAP [chae.yunhwan@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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