Seoul shares fall

Seoul shares nearly wiped out their 2006 gains on Tuesday, with foreigners leading a sell-off of steel makers such as POSCO after a drop in commodity prices raised worries of slower global demand for products such as steel or zinc.
The drop in commodity prices came at a time of deep concern about the impact of a recent surge in the won on exporters and fears about higher inflation in the United States, South Korea's biggest export market after China.
The 5.6 percent drop of the main KOSPI over the past three sessions marks a dramatic reversal after the index ended at a record high of 1,464.70 just on Thursday.
Foreign investors - whose net purchases had contributed to the KOSPI's record-setting run at the beginning of the year - were net sellers for a third day, unloading a net 354 billion won as of 0625 GMT. That brought their total over the past three sessions to 755.6 billion won.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.25 percent to end at 1,382.11, just barely above the 1,379.37 points at which it ended trade last year.
It was the KOSPI's lowest close since ending at 1,379.75 on April 3.
"It was something dreadful. It's like a bubble bursting, not only in commodities but any other assets that people associate with commodities. Those worries quickly spread over the whole market," said Lim Chang-gue, a fund manager at Samsung Investment Trust Management.
Commodity stocks fell sharply, with Korea Zinc Co Ltd, the world's biggest zinc refiner, dropping by a daily limit of 15 percent to 83,000 won.
POSCO Co Ltd, the world's fifth-biggest steel maker, fell 7.06 percent to 250,000 won, its biggest one-day percentage fall since dropping 9.84 percent on December 10, 2001. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's biggest maker of memory chips, fell 1.38 percent to 641,000 won.
However, Hyundai Motor Co edged up 0.12 percent to 81,300 won, even after the auto maker's chairman was indicted on Tuesday. Trade volume reached 280.9 million shares, worth 4.4 trillion won, compared to 250.7 million shares, worth 3.9 trillion won, on Monday. Decliners trumped gainers by 657 to 129 with 35 titles ending flat.
Retail investors bought a net 181.4 billion won, while institutional investors bought a net 66.5 billion won. The June KOSPI 200 futures index fell 4.50 points to 178.50, while the underlying KOSPI 200 spot index lost 4.08 points to 179.00. South Korea's junior and tech heavy Kosdaq market fell 1.95 percent to finish at 662.14.