Korea's large-cap stocks nosediving to pre-pandemic levels
The corporate logos of Samsung, Naver and Kakao / Courtesy of each firmBy Lee Min-hyungKorea's large-cap tech stocks are nosediving at an alarming pace, leaving retail investors of Samsung Electronics, Kakao and Naver with a growing sense of frustration. The three companies enjoyed their heyday in 2020 and 2021 amid the earlier part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as their stock prices soared to historic levels on the coronavirus-induced near-zero interest rates.Shares of Samsung Electronics, the nation's most valuable company, hovered around 60,000 won shortly after the pandemic broke out in March 2020. But with the Bank of Korea (BOK) cutting the key rate down to 0.5 percent, retail investors went on a buying spree of the shares, helping boost the stock value to a historic high of 96,800 won in January 2021.But Samsung's shares have since been on the steep decline, falling below the pre-pandemic level of 59,600 won on Friday amid growing market fears of global monetary tightening. With the BOK raising the key rate to 1.75 percent in less than a year, the benchmark Kospi has in re
Jun 17, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
