Won Plunges to 3-Month Low
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
The domestic currency depreciated to a three-month low, Thursday, amid fresh concerns over the global financial crisis and weak stock market.
The Korean won extended its losing streak to eight sessions to finish at 1,480 won per dollar, up 13 won from the previous close. The won-dollar exchange rate is at its highest since Nov. 25 last year.
``The concerns coming from Eastern Europe keep weighing on local financial markets for foreign exchanges or equities alike,'' said Lee Sun-yup, an analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities.
``Before people start to believe that a second-round financial crisis will not come to town, things are unlikely to improve easily. We are also cautious now,'' he said.
Earlier this week, Moody's ratings agency warned that the faltering economic conditions in Eastern Europe would continue to negatively affect lenders in Western countries.
This chilled the market sentiment once-and-for-all, while prompting investors to resort to safe assets such as the dollar.
Along the same line, the Seoul bourse suffered as the benchmark KOSPI shed 6.09 points, or 0.55 percent, to finish at 1,107.1. The junior Kosdaq also lost 5.4 points, or 1.38 percent, to 384.67.
Most bellwethers were losing. Top steel-maker POSCO edged down 0.29 percent to 338,000 won, while leading carmaker Hyundai Motor declined 1.04 percent to 47,700 won.
A total of 635.6 million shares worth 4.6 trillion won changed hands. Losers outnumbered winners 504 to 347, with a total of 11 shares reaching the daily down limit of 15 percent.