Tuesday, January 28th, 2014
SEOUL, KOREA - The KOSPI index was battered by the news of the emerging market tumult as well as by the earnings shock of major domestic companies. At 10:36 am on January 27, the index declined to 1,909.10, down 1.62 percent (31.46 points) from the previous trading day. At one time the index fell below the 1,900 level.
Over the weekend, the news of the so-called "BIITS" (Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey, and South Africa) losing their currency value rapidly has affected the share prices of major firms in construction, shipbuilding, and shipping.
Foreign investors have net-sold for three days in a row. The companies in chemical and non-ferrous metal industries saw their share prices fall more than 2 percent on the same day. The shares of top companies in terms of market cap, including Samsung Electronics (-1.45%), Hyundai Motor (-1.32%), Hyundai Mobis (0.68%), POSCO (-1.64%), SK Hynix (-1.67%), Naver (-2.50%), and KEPCO (-0.15%), all lost in the day's trading.
At the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,084.20 won per dollar on the 27th, up 3.80 won from the previous day, the rise for six consecutive days.