(3rd LD) Seoul stocks dip over 5 pct on chip sell-off after record surge
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- Seoul stocks plunged by more than over 5 percent Monda...
Seoul's stock market experienced a significant decline on August 3, 2021, with the benchmark KOSPI falling by 5.12 percent, or 338 points, to close at 6,257.45. The drop was primarily driven by investors locking in profits from semiconductor companies, following a record surge the previous day. The KOSPI had risen nearly 18 percent on Friday.
The market's low trade volume of 270.9 million shares worth 26.1 trillion won reflected the profit-taking activity. Foreign and institutional investors were net sellers, offloading a combined net of 4.77 trillion won, while retail investors netted a gain of 4.65 trillion won. Analyst Lee Kyoung-min from Daishin Securities attributed the market's decline to foreign investors' profit-taking, particularly in semiconductor stocks.
The two major chip giants, SK hynix and Samsung Electronics, which saw their shares rise almost to the daily permissible limit on Friday, were among the main losers. The declines were further exacerbated by the drop in oil prices following the announcement of a U.S.-Iran tension resolution by President Donald Trump. Single-stock leveraged ETFs, which saw a sharp decline in daily trading volume, also contributed to the overall market downturn.
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