December 23, 2022 12:28
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index was the worst performer among the main bourses of G20 countries this year after sanction-hit Russia.
According to the Korea Exchange on Thursday, the KOSPI plunged 22 percent this year since starting at 2,988.77 points on Jan. 3. The Russian bourse plummeted 40 percent over the same period as Moscow embarked on a war with Ukraine and was crippled by international sanctions.
Fourteen bourses fell, but only Korea and Russia by more than 20 percent. The U.S.' Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10 percent and Japan's Nikkei nine percent. Even the Shanghai Composite Index fell only 19 percent despite draconian coronavirus lockdowns.
Turkey's BIST100 rose the highest among G20 stock indices at a whopping 181.26 percent as Turkish authorities slashed interest rates to stimulate economic growth, bucking the trend in other countries, according to Bloomberg. Argentina's MERVAL Index rose 101 percent to rank second, followed by India's SENSEX Index at four percent.
The poor performance of the KOSPI was attributed to lackluster semiconductor exports. The market caps of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which account for a staggering 22 percent of the KOSPI's total, have plunged 25 percent and 40 percent.
Cho Jae-woon at Daishin Securities said, "The high proportion of semiconductor makers has greatly affected the performance of the Korean market. Another factor was poor performance of IT businesses as earnings per share of IT stocks nosedived 51 percent."
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