Seoul shares plunges on global recession woes

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks tumbled more than 6 percent late Thursday morning as investors dumped large-cap shares, spooked by overnight plunges in the U.S. and growing concerns over a global economic recession, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 85.53 points, or
6.38 percent, to 1,254.75 of 11:20 a.m.
"The market is panicking," said Kim Hak-gyun, an analyst at Korea Investment &
Securities. "Overnight setbacks in the U.S. caused earlier sell-offs and losses
extended on concerns that the ongoing financial turmoil might send the global
economy into a recession."
Blue-chip shares lost significant ground, with many steel, financial and shipyard
shares registering two-digit percentage losses.
Top steelmaker POSCO dived 10.72 percent and smaller Hyundai Steel plunged 10.63
percent. No. 2 financial service provider Shinhan Financial Group traded 9.5
percent lower.
Shipbuilding giants Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 11.67 percent, while rival
Samsung Heavy Industries were also off 10.93 percent.
Tech issues also added to the downward move. Industry leader Samsung Electronics
lost 4.57 percent and chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor tumbled 8.89 percent.
The downswings came after U.S. markets plunged Wednesday after government data
including worse-than-expected retail sales indicated that its economy is slipping
into a recession. The Dow Jones industrial average dived 7.87 percent and the
tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index fell 8.47 percent.
Stock market panic hit the local currency market hard. The won was trading at
1,311.45 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 71.95 won from Wednesday's
close.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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