Asian Economic News
South Korean Market Trades Lower; Banks, Shipping Stocks Decline
11/24/2009 10:27 PM ET
(RTTNews) -
After moving up in early trades, the South Korean stock market drifted lower on Wednesday with investors pressing sales in key bank and shipping stocks. A downward revision in U.S. GDP growth and a decline in consumer confidence in South Korea appear to be forcing a section of investors on to the sidelines.
The benchmark KOSPI index, which edged higher to 1,614.9 in early trades but fell to 1,599 subsequently, is currently down 3.4 points or 0.21% at 1,603. On Tuesday, the index had declined 12.6 points or 0.8% to finish at 1,606.4.
Among bank stocks, KB Financial is down by about 2.5%, while Korea Exchange Bank, Woori Finance and Shinhan Financial are trading lower by 1%-1.5%.
In the shipping space, Hyundai Heavy Industries, STX Pan Ocean and Daewoo Shipbuilding are trading lower by 1.3%-1.6%, while Samsung Heavy Industries is trading flat.
Among technology stocks, heavyweight Samsung Electronics is up with a modest gain, Hynix Semiconductor is gaining 1.5% and LG Display LCD is trading flat, while LG Electronics is down in negative territory with a 2% loss.
Oil stocks are trading mixed. SK Holdings is up 1.6%, while S-Oil and KEPCO are trading modestly lower. Among steel stocks, Hyundai Steel is down 1.8%, while POSCO is gaining about 2%.
Among automobile stocks, Kia Motor and Ssangyong Motors are down with modest losses, while Hyundai Motor is up with a small gain. Airliners Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are up with notable gains. Telecom stocks are trading flat.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Taiwan are trading higher, while Shanghai and Hong Kong are trading weak. The Japanese market was up slightly at the end of the morning session. Markets across the region had closed mostly lower on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower by slim margins on Tuesday amid some lackluster economic data. While the downward revision to the pace of GDP growth in the third quarter dragged down stock prices, better than expected data on consumer confidence prevented a pronounced fall.
The Dow and the S&P 500 briefly peeked above the unchanged line in the latter part of the trading day, but they still closed in the red. The Dow lower by 17.2 points or 0.2% at 10,433.7, the Nasdaq declined 6.8 points or 0.3% to 2,169.2 and the S&P 500 slipped by 0.6 points or 0.1% to 1,105.7.
Major European markets closed moderately lower on Tuesday. While U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and German DAX index both dropped down by 0.6%, the French CAC 40 index lost 0.8%.
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