South Korean stocks plunged 3.9 percent Monday on growing worry about the soaring number of the COVID-19 infection cases here for the past week, reports Xinhua. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 83.8 points, or 3.87 percent, to settle at 2,079.04. Trading volume stood at 939 million shares worth 9.1 trillion won (7.5 billion U.S. dollars).
It marked the biggest daily decline in about 16 months. Market capitalization worth 56.2 trillion won (46.2 billion U.S. dollars) evaporated from the KOSPI in a single day. It came amid the soaring COVID-19 cases here in recent days. The number of infected patients totaled 833 on Monday, up 231 from the previous day. A total of 571 new cases were reported from Wednesday to Sunday.
Foreigners dumped the biggest amount of local stocks in three months, while institutional and retail investors were net buyers. Large-cap shares lost ground. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plummeted 4.1 percent, and memory chip giant SK Hynix diminished 3.4 percent. The most-used search engine Naver dropped 2.9 percent, and leading chemical firm LG Chem retreated 3 percent.
South Korea's currency finished at 1,220.2 won against the greenback, down 11.0 won from the previous close. It was the highest close in about six months. For the past three trading days, the won/dollar exchange rate jumped 31 won per dollar.
Bond prices ended higher. Yields on the liquid three-year treasury notes dipped 4.3 basis point to 1.139 percent, and the return on the 10-year government bonds shrank 2.7 basis points to 1.416 percent.
