Seoul shares plunge over 8 pct on panic selling

SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks tumbled more than 8 percent late Thursday morning as investor jitters grew over the prospects of a global economic recession, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plummeted 93.06 points,
or 8.2 percent, to 1,041.53 as of 11:20 a.m.
"Investors seemed to believe that it will be not easy to avoid a global economic
recession down the road," said Bae Sung-young, an analyst at Hyundai Securities
Co.
"A massive selling spree of institutional investors may reflect that more people
have tried to withdraw money from their funds and an over 8 percent decline in
shares of Samsung Electronics added to the KOSPI's steep falls."
The KOSPI declined below 1,050-point market at one point, falling as much as 9.2
percent in the morning session.
Steep losses caused the Korea Exchange (KRX), the bourse operator, to suspend
program trading in early trading. for five minutes after the main index's futures
prices fell more than 5 percent. It was the 11th such emergency break this year.
U.S. stocks plunged again Wednesday as investors worried that the global economy
is poised to weaken despite an expected slow recovery in the credit market. The
Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 5.69 percent and the tech-dominated Nasdaq
composite index declined 4.77 percent.
The local currency was trading at 1,418.3 won to the U.S. dollar as of 11:20
a.m., down 55.3 won from Wednesday's close, as foreign investors cut their
holdings of local stocks, dealers said.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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