Stock prices tumble below 690

Bombarded by selling from foreign investors, the stock market Thursday nose-dived to below 690 a few moments after dropping below 700. With foreign investors indiscriminately dumping semiconductor stocks, including shares of Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Electronics Industries, the composite index tumbled by 30.31 points (4.21%) from the previous day to record 688.62. The Kosdaq index also tumbled by 3.36 points (3.00%) to end at 108.59 Foreign investors sold a total of 297.4 Billion won of shares, including 1,050,000 Samsung electronics shares.

The forward index sharply dropped by 4 points, further encouraging sell orders to flood the market. A total of 110 Billion won worth of program orders flooded the market, causing the index to further drop. Towards the close of the market, the rumor of a default by a merchant bank, the increase in oil prices and anxieties over the shrinking economy all worked against it. Samsung electronics shares dropped by 28,000 won (9.29%) to end at 273,500 won per share, breaking the record low of 278,000 won per share reached in early August. In an unprecedented move, foreign investors sold more than 1 million shares in Samsung electronics, raising the question of whether they have started downsizing their influence in the stock market.