Stock prices fall to another yearly low

With speculative selling orders flooding the Korea Stock Exchange and KOSDAQ market, the composite stock price index fell once again to reach the lowest point of the year. The composite index dropped by 42.74 points (7.17%) from the previous day to 553.25 and reached its lowest point since March 5, 1999 (538.19). The daily loss (7.17%) was the third largest this year.

Despite the government¡¯s announcement that it would raise an additional 40 trillion won in public funds, stock prices fell dramatically owing to the sharp fall of semiconductor shares on the NASDAQ, turbulence stemming from the disposal process for Daewoo Motor and the rise in oil prices owing to increased tension in the Middle East. A circuit breaker was triggered in the futures market and trading suspended temporarily as December futures quotations dropped sharply.

Foreign investors placed 195.2 billion won of sell orders centering on semiconductor shares, adding to the depressed sentiment. Investors sold shares totaling 124.2 billion won of Samsung Electronics and 38.2 billion won of Hyundai Electronics Industries. The share price of HEI dropped by over 13% to reach 190,000 won per share and reducing its market worth to below 30 billion won.