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| An employee passes by a market index monitor in the dealing room of Hana Bank headquarters in Myeongdong, downtown Seoul, Wednesday. The main benchmark Kospi closed at 2,342.81 points, falling by 2.74 percent from the previous day, while the tech-heavy Kosdaq tumbled 4.03 percent to finish at 746.96 points. Korean won ended at 1,297.30 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3.7 won from the previous day and the lowest value in 13 years. Yonhap |
Korean stocks fell again, shedding almost 3 percent Wednesday as recession woes saw investors avoid risky assets amid hawkish monetary policies in major economies. The local currency also fell to its lowest point against the U.S. dollar in 13 years.
The Kospi dropped 66.12 points, or 2.74 percent, to close at 2,342.81.
Trading volume was moderate at 520.87 million shares worth 8.5 trillion won ($6.54 billion), with decliners far outpacing gainers, 870 to 40.
Institutions and foreign investors offloaded a net 85.3 billion won and 320.6 won worth of shares, respectively, while retail investors bought a net 376.7 billion won worth.
The market got off to a good start, buoyed by Wall Street's gains; but it fell into negative territory, as aggressive rate hikes and fears of an economic downturn weighed down investor sentiment.
"Investor sentiment is very negative" Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities said. "Appetite for risky assets waned on recession fears."
Overnight, Wall Street made a comeback following a brutal week in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike of 0.75 percent, its steepest increase since 1994, to tame inflation.
Seoul shares slumped across the board with tech shares leading the losses.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 1.54 percent to a yearly low of 57,600 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 3.15 percent to 92,200 won.
Major battery maker LG Energy Solution declined 2.91 percent to 401,000 won and chemical giant LG Chem shed 2.64 percent to 553,000 won.
Hyundai Motor decreased 0.58 percent to close at 171,500 won and its smaller affiliate Kia lost 1.16 percent to 76,400 won.
Major bio shares ended mixed. Samsung Biologics inched down 0.49 percent to 817,000 won, while Celltrion went up 1.3 percent to 156,000 won.
The local currency ended at 1,297.30 won against the U.S. dollar, down 3.7 won from the previous session's close and the lowest value since July 2009. (Yonhap)
