Shares fall below 2,000 points to close at one-month low

South Korean stocks sank 1.57 percent on Monday on disappointing U.S. economic indicators, analysts said Monday. The local currency declined against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark KOSPI lost 31.95 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 1,997.08. Trading volume was moderate at 458 million shares worth 4.27 trillion won ($3.75 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 726 to 151.

The bourse was battered by worse-than-expected U.S. employment numbers, with the number of jobs created in March falling to around 120,000, from an average of over 200,000 from December until February.

The KOSPI was also affected by geopolitical risks brought on by North Korea’s planned launch of a long-range rocket, experts said.

“Weak U.S. economic data and worries over the rocket launch caused the market to fall,” said Kwak Joong-bo, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co. “However, the stock market should be able to guard against further losses.”

Shares lost ground across the board with electronics makers leading the fall.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics shed 1.13 percent to close at 1,317,000 won. LG Electronics, the country’s leading home appliance maker, lost 3.91 percent to end at 78,700 won.

LG Chem dropped 2.23 percent to 351,500 won, with Hyundai Heavy Industries contracting 3.19 percent from the previous session to 303,000 won.

Leading steelmaker POSCO fell 1.61 percent to close at 366,500 won, while Hyundai Steel slipped 1.92 percent to end at 102,000 won.

Top automaker Hyundai Motor, however, gained 1.51 percent to 268,500 won due to strong demand in overseas markets that offset gains in domestic sales.

The local currency finished at 1,138.2 won to the greenback, down 6.5 won from Friday’s close, as investors shunned risky assets, dealers said. 

(Yonhap News)