South Korea’s brokerage houses are slashing their fourth-quarter earnings outlook for listed firms this month, as the prolonged slump in the local economy and a stronger local currency are presumed to have eaten into their profitability, data showed on Tuesday.

The operating profit outlook for firms listed on the main bourse was cut by 2.9 percent for the October-December period as of Tuesday from an estimate made a week earlier, according to the data compiled by Shinyoung Securities Co.

The outlook covers listed companies for which more than three brokerage houses have offered earnings forecasts for the fourth quarter.

The earnings downgrade came as Samsung Electronics Co., the biggest market cap on the main bourse, reported a weaker than expected fourth-quarter business result last week, raising expectations that other local firms may provide similar figures for the October-December period. (Yonhap News)