[THE INVESTOR] The shock of Britain’s unexpected decision to leave the European Union last week continued to batter Korean stocks as they opened sharply lower on June 27.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 12.29 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,913.07 in the first 5 minutes of trading.
The Investor/Lee Sang-sub
Global stock markets are widely expected to suffer increased volatility this week as uncertainty involving the Britain’s EU exit negotiations will make investors more risk averse and prefer safe assets such as the dollar and the yen, analysts said.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 611 points, or 3.4 percent, its biggest decline since August.
According to analysts, the nation’s main stock index may flirt with the 1,850-point level if foreigners continue to dump local stocks.
Large-cap stocks declined across the board.
Samsung Electronics fell 0.49 percent, leading cosmetics maker AmorePacific shed 1.81 percent, and No. 1 chemical company LG Chem was down 3.54 percent.
Among gainers, top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 2.87 percent and No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom gained 0.24 percent on bargain hunting.
The local currency was trading at 1,177.00 won against the US dollar, up 2.90 won from the previous session’s close.
(
theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)