Kospi drops 1.23 percent as foreigners unload
Shares continued falling Wednesday as foreign investors and individuals offloaded large-cap stocks throughout the day. The won also extended its declines and sharply fell against the dollar.The benchmark Kospi dropped 26 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 2,096.02. Trading volume was moderate, at 510 million shares worth around 4.5 trillion won ($3.85 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 634 to 201.
Most large-cap shares ended in negative territory.
Samsung Electronics lost 1.84 percent to 45,400 won, and No. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 3.22 percent to 69,100 won. LG Electronics fell 1.42 percent to 76,300 won.
Auto shares also went south. Hyundai Motor fell 0.73 percent to 136,000 won, and its sister company Kia Motors lost 3.03 percent to 41,650 won. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis ended 1.08 percent lower at 229,500 won.
Mobile carriers ended lower. SK Telecom fell 0.96 percent to 258,000 won, and KT fell 0.35 percent to 28,150 won. LG U+ dropped 3.04 percent to 14,350 won.
Bio shares ended mixed. Celltrion gained 0.49 percent to 206,000 won, while Samsung BioLogics fell 1.85 percent to 318,000 won. Hanmi Pharmaceutical inched down 0.12 percent to 414,500 won.
Game companies ended mixed as well. NCSoft gained 2.07 percent to 468,500 won, but rival Netmarble fell 1.48 percent to 100,000 won.
Naver rose 2.17 percent to 117,500 won, and LG Chem gained 2.01 percent to 355,500 won. Lotte Chemical rose 3.07 percent to 268,500 won, and SK Innovation fell 1.82 percent to 162,000 won.
Kakao inched down 0.38 percent to 131,000 won, and Hyundai Glovis fell 3.72 percent to 155,500 won.
The secondary Kosdaq lost 3.21 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 693.04. The bio and tech-heavy index ended lower as foreigners and institutional investors offloaded local stocks after seeing the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index drop 1.4 percent overnight.
The local currency closed at 1,171.3 won against the dollar, up 5.3 won from the previous session’s close.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. The yield on three-year bonds lost 3.4 basis points to 1.429 percent, and the return on 10-year bonds fell 5.2 basis points to 1.534 percent.
BY KO JUN-TAE [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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