403
Sorry!!
Error! We're sorry, but the page you were looking for doesn't exist.
South Korea's Stocks Fall 6 Percent on Friday
(MENAFN) South Korean equities suffered a dramatic reversal Friday, plummeting sharply after briefly touching an unprecedented milestone, as a wave of profit-taking by foreign and institutional investors overwhelmed early gains and triggered an emergency trading halt.
The benchmark KOSPI shed 488.23 points, or 6.12 percent, closing at 7,493.18, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ retreated 61.27 points, or 5.14 percent, to settle at 1,129.82 — marking one of the steepest single-session declines in recent memory.
In a historic but fleeting moment, the KOSPI breached the 8,000-point threshold for the first time ever during early trading, only to reverse violently as sellers dominated the afternoon session. The sharp deterioration in KOSPI 200 futures — which slid more than 5 percent — activated a sell-side sidecar mechanism, automatically suspending all program trading orders for five minutes under market stabilization rules.
While foreign and institutional players aggressively unwound positions to lock in recent gains, retail investors moved in the opposite direction, absorbing some of the pressure through aggressive dip-buying that helped limit further downside.
The turbulence extended to currency markets, where the South Korean won weakened to 1,500.8 per U.S. dollar by 3:30 p.m. local time (0630 GMT) — a decline of 9.8 won from the prior session's close.
Blue-chip heavyweights bore the brunt of the selloff. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunged 8.61 percent, while memory chip giant SK Hynix fell 7.66 percent. Defense leader Hanwha Aerospace dropped 6.89 percent, and battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution lost 5.66 percent.
Energy infrastructure firm Doosan Enerbility declined 5.38 percent, and shipbuilding titan HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shed 4.62 percent. Biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer Samsung Biologics fell 2.07 percent, while the nation's top automaker Hyundai Motor posted a comparatively modest loss of 1.69 percent.
The benchmark KOSPI shed 488.23 points, or 6.12 percent, closing at 7,493.18, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ retreated 61.27 points, or 5.14 percent, to settle at 1,129.82 — marking one of the steepest single-session declines in recent memory.
In a historic but fleeting moment, the KOSPI breached the 8,000-point threshold for the first time ever during early trading, only to reverse violently as sellers dominated the afternoon session. The sharp deterioration in KOSPI 200 futures — which slid more than 5 percent — activated a sell-side sidecar mechanism, automatically suspending all program trading orders for five minutes under market stabilization rules.
While foreign and institutional players aggressively unwound positions to lock in recent gains, retail investors moved in the opposite direction, absorbing some of the pressure through aggressive dip-buying that helped limit further downside.
The turbulence extended to currency markets, where the South Korean won weakened to 1,500.8 per U.S. dollar by 3:30 p.m. local time (0630 GMT) — a decline of 9.8 won from the prior session's close.
Blue-chip heavyweights bore the brunt of the selloff. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunged 8.61 percent, while memory chip giant SK Hynix fell 7.66 percent. Defense leader Hanwha Aerospace dropped 6.89 percent, and battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution lost 5.66 percent.
Energy infrastructure firm Doosan Enerbility declined 5.38 percent, and shipbuilding titan HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shed 4.62 percent. Biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer Samsung Biologics fell 2.07 percent, while the nation's top automaker Hyundai Motor posted a comparatively modest loss of 1.69 percent.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Most popular stories
Market Research
More Story
Comments
No comment