South Korean shares fell on Wednesday for a fourth straight session, dragged down by shipmakers, as investors grew impatient with the European Central Bank to flesh out its plans for the debt-laden economies in the euro zone. The market faced further pressure after Japan's exports slumped the most in six months in July as shipments to Europe and China tumbled, casting a shadow over the prospects of South Korean exports as well, the key driver of Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 0.41 percent to close at 1,935.19 points, holding its ground in bullish territory above the 120-day moving average of 1,961.61 points. Hopes that the ECB will step in to ease borrowing costs for Spain and Italy propelled the KOSPI to three-month highs in August, although the rally has sputtered since Friday on concerns that the market has become overheated.
Shipyards, heavily-tied to fortunes in Europe and outperformers in the recent rally backed by hopes of decisive debt-fighting action in that region, fell to profit-taking on Wednesday. Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 2.78 percent while Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shed 1.6 percent. Kumho Industrial slumped 3.9 percent en route to an eight-day losing streak, facing dogged pressure since last Monday's announcement by the cash-strapped conglomerate that it was mulling a capital writedown plan. LG Electronics rose 1.8 percent.
Comments
Comments are closed.