Market volatile before Chuseok holiday
Ahead of the celebrated national holiday of Chuseok, the Korean stock market was volatile during the day. But by the 3 p.m. close, the market remained hardly changed compared to Wednesday.Analysts say the Federal Reserve’s decision on its own monetary policy, on top of the disappointing data regarding the Chinese economy, continues to heavily influence investor sentiment.
The benchmark Kospi on Thursday closed at 1,947.10, up marginally by 2.46 points or 0.13 percent from the previous day. Foreign investors net sold for the fourth consecutive day, disposing of 238 billion won ($200 million) in shares. However, retail and institutional investors added to the Kospi by net purchasing worth 89.4 billion won and 95.9 billion won, respectively.
Major players by market capitalization showed mixed results, though more gained than lost. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched down 0.44 percent to 1,126,000 won together with LG Electronics down by 1.01 percent to 44,300 won.
Automotive shares gained, with Hyundai Motor nudging up 0.64 percent to 158,000 won, and its auto-parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis advancing 1.18 percent to 215,000 won. Sister company Kia Motors remained unchanged at 51,200 won. The full impact of the Volkswagen incident on the industry is still unclear.
Cosmetics saw a rise, with TonyMoly soaring 13.09 percent to 62,200 won. Hankook Cosmetics Manufacturing surged 10.80 percent to 13,850 won. Korea’s largest cosmetics company AmorePacific rose 1.48 percent to 376,000 won.
The won declined for a fourth day as global funds pulled money from local stocks amid concern that a deepening slowdown in China, South Korea’s biggest export market, will hurt the economy.
The currency fell 0.1 percent to close at 1,192.63 a dollar in Seoul on Thursday, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. It has lost 2.5 percent this week and earlier touched 1,194.20, the weakest since Sept. 10.
Government bonds fell on Thursday, with the 10-year yield rising three basis points to 2.16 percent, Korea Exchange prices showed. The three-year yield climbed one basis point to 1.63 percent.
BY KIM JEE-HEE, BLOOMBERG [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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