Seoul shares end 0.05 pct down on persistent jitters

SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks finished 0.05 percent lower Wednesday as institutions and foreign investors dumped blue chips on growing jitters over the slumping economy, analysts said. The local currency fell slightly to the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 0.53 points to
1,022.67. Volume was heavy at 471.8 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won
(US$3.54 billion). Gainers, however, outnumbered losers 464 to 349.
"The key index lost ground due to foreign and institutional sell-offs despite a
gain of more than 1 percent in morning trade," said Bae Sung-yung, an analyst at
Hyundai Securities said.
Wall Street's gains in the previous session didn't seem sufficient to quell an
overwhelming concern over the outlook for South Korea's economy, according to
Bae.
The Bank of Korea, the country's central bank said Tuesday that the economy's
growth may fall short of its earlier estimate of 4.4 percent as the global
financial crisis has hit the export-driven economy harder than expected, further
dampening domestic demand.
Tech exporters led the overall the overall decline, with market heavyweight
Samsung Electronics losing 2.86 percent to 441,000 won. LG Electronics tumbled
3.41 percent to 73,700 won after announcing that the company expects a drop in
handset sales growth next year.
Retailers and steelmakers also lost ground. Hyundai Department Store, the
nation's second-largest department store chain, fell 3.66 percent to 55,000 won
and top steelmaker POSCO slid 0.31 percent to end at 317,000 won.
U.S. shares closed sharply higher Tuesday with the Dow Jones industrial average
climbing 3.3 percent. The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 3.7 percent.
The local currency closed at 1,469 won to the U.S. dollar, down 4.5 won from
Tuesday's close, as offshore investors dumped the won, dealers said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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