South Korean shares lost ground for a third consecutive day on Monday, dogged by investor concerns about the risks to the global economy from the approaching US "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 0.2 percent at 1,900.87 points, but pared earlier losses. Shipbuilders were among the worst performers.
Foreign investors sold a net 155.2 billion Korean won ($142.68 million) worth of shares, while institutional and retail investors were among the buyers. "The US fiscal cliff is expected to be resolved, but it faces an uphill battle to reach a solution, which will be a drag on stock markets," said Kim Sung-soo, a fund manager at LS Asset Management.
Statements from US President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner on Friday showed that the two leaders were still far apart over a solution to avoid a "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts worth $600 billion, leading US stocks to give up most gains later in the day.
"There is a consensus that South Korean stocks are cheaper than their peers, but the macroeconomic uncertainty will force analysts to downgrade corporate earnings outlooks for this year and next year," Kim said. The shipbuilding sector was the big loser, with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering sliding 3.98 percent and Hyundai Heavy Industries down 3.08 percent. The automobile industry bucked the trend, with Hyundai Motor up 1.17 percent and Hyundai Mobis rising 2.07 percent.
Among other large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics inched up 0.3 percent, while POSCO lost 1.07 percent. But Woongjin Holdings extended its rally, up by its daily limit of 15 percent, after a court approved the $1.1 billion sale of a stake in unit Woongjin Coway. The KOSPI 200 benchmark of core stocks closed down 0.21 percent, while the junior KOSDAQ edged 0.29 percent higher.