KOSPI again tumbles below 500

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell by nearly nine points Monday, once more dipping below the 500 mark. The KOSPI opened the day with a drop of 3.15 points and continued to hover around 500.

However, at the end of the day`s trading, investors became restless about the weakening won and dumped wons to buy up dollars. The market closed at 497.46, down 8.87 points or 1.73 percent from last Friday. This was the second time after Apr. 4 that the index fell out of the 500-range. The KOSPI futures index also fell by 0.95 points to 61.95.

Trading was light as the market awaited the announcement of major U.S. economic indices. A total of 279.16 million shares changed hands and the value of transactions reached only 915.2 billion won.

The Kosdaq market also showed sluggish movement under the influence of the sharp fall of the U.S. Nasdaq over the weekend. It closed at 64.81, down 1.70 points or 2.56 percent.

Kim Jin-Ho jinho@donga.com