ID :
103427
Fri, 01/29/2010 - 15:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/103427
The shortlink copeid
Seoul shares tumble 2.44 pct on foreign selling
(ATTN: CORRECTS "10.3 percent" to "10.30 won" in para 11; ADDS bond yields at bottom)
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed 2.44 percent lower Friday
as foreign investors dumped tech blue chips due to U.S. tech firms' weak bottom
lines and lingering woes about a global economic recovery, analysts said. The won
fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 40 points to
1,602.43. Volume was moderate at 467.4 million shares worth 5.61 trillion won
(US$4.83 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 700 to 140.
"Concerns about U.S. bank regulations and China's tightening stance continued to
weigh on fragile investor sentiment," said Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst at Hana
Daetoo Securities Co.
Kwak said the market will likely trade weaker in the coming week as investors
will await a batch of key U.S. economic data and remain cautious about deepening
concerns about Greece's debt.
The key index extended earlier losses in late trading due to a selling spree of
foreign investors with falling below the 1,600-point mark for the first time in
about two months at one point. The index declined as much as 2.86 percent during
the session.
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday as a weaker earnings outlook for
U.S. tech companies chilled investor sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average
declined 1.13 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index lost 1.91
percent.
Tech shares lost ground after their U.S. rivals tumbled on disappointing earnings
prospects. Market leader Samsung Electronics lost 2.97 percent to 784,000 won
despite its announcement of brisk fourth-quarter earnings. The company said
earlier in the day that its fourth-quarter profit swung back to into the black
from a year ago on surging profits from memory chips and panels.
Chip giant Hynix Semiconductor shed 3.6 percent to 22,750 won and flat panel
giant LG Display plunged 5.96 percent to 37,900 won.
Korea District Heating Corp., a state-run electricity and heat supplier, fell by
the daily limit of 15 percent to 76,500 won on its first trading day on the main
bourse. As soon as the market opened, it rallied to as high as 99,700 won, but
its momentum lost ground later.
Banks and shipbuilders also traded in negative territory. Leading financial
services company KB Financial Group fell 3.25 percent to 50,600 won and top
shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries declined 7.18 percent to 18,100 won.
The local currency ended at 1,161.80 won to the U.S. dollar, down 10.30 won from
Thursday's close as offshore investors cut their holdings of local stocks,
dealers said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on the
benchmark three-year Treasury note fell 0.04 percentage point to 4.27 percent,
and the return on five-year government bonds shed 0.05 percentage point to close
at 4.82 percent.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks closed 2.44 percent lower Friday
as foreign investors dumped tech blue chips due to U.S. tech firms' weak bottom
lines and lingering woes about a global economic recovery, analysts said. The won
fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 40 points to
1,602.43. Volume was moderate at 467.4 million shares worth 5.61 trillion won
(US$4.83 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 700 to 140.
"Concerns about U.S. bank regulations and China's tightening stance continued to
weigh on fragile investor sentiment," said Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst at Hana
Daetoo Securities Co.
Kwak said the market will likely trade weaker in the coming week as investors
will await a batch of key U.S. economic data and remain cautious about deepening
concerns about Greece's debt.
The key index extended earlier losses in late trading due to a selling spree of
foreign investors with falling below the 1,600-point mark for the first time in
about two months at one point. The index declined as much as 2.86 percent during
the session.
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday as a weaker earnings outlook for
U.S. tech companies chilled investor sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average
declined 1.13 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index lost 1.91
percent.
Tech shares lost ground after their U.S. rivals tumbled on disappointing earnings
prospects. Market leader Samsung Electronics lost 2.97 percent to 784,000 won
despite its announcement of brisk fourth-quarter earnings. The company said
earlier in the day that its fourth-quarter profit swung back to into the black
from a year ago on surging profits from memory chips and panels.
Chip giant Hynix Semiconductor shed 3.6 percent to 22,750 won and flat panel
giant LG Display plunged 5.96 percent to 37,900 won.
Korea District Heating Corp., a state-run electricity and heat supplier, fell by
the daily limit of 15 percent to 76,500 won on its first trading day on the main
bourse. As soon as the market opened, it rallied to as high as 99,700 won, but
its momentum lost ground later.
Banks and shipbuilders also traded in negative territory. Leading financial
services company KB Financial Group fell 3.25 percent to 50,600 won and top
shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries declined 7.18 percent to 18,100 won.
The local currency ended at 1,161.80 won to the U.S. dollar, down 10.30 won from
Thursday's close as offshore investors cut their holdings of local stocks,
dealers said.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on the
benchmark three-year Treasury note fell 0.04 percentage point to 4.27 percent,
and the return on five-year government bonds shed 0.05 percentage point to close
at 4.82 percent.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
