Stock index hits a new low of 534.71

The KOSPI index hit an all-time low today.

On Thursday, the local bourse dropped 22.47 points and closed at 534.71. Due to the overwhelming selling volume of the option due date, the opening price of the afternoon session fell 10 points. The below 530-mark marked a new record for the past one year and seven months since the 38.19 point drop of Mar. 5, 1999. The KOSDAQ plunged 1.9 points, closing at 93.95, and the four-day consecutive downward trend seemed to stop.

This day, the selling volume of program trading reached 120 billion won, exceeding by far the buying volume of arbitrage trading. The local bourse said, "The main reason for the index collapse was the overwhelming selling volume of synthetic futures, which refer to option trade." The top 20 issues on the basis of market value of the local bourse also plummeted. The shareprice of Samsung Electronics fell to the level of 150,000 won.

In the KOSDAQ, the construction industry index plunged 4.23 points, bringing all stocks to down-trend. Most large-scale telecommunication issues and Internet-related issues also tumbled.

Lee Cheol-Yong lcy@donga.com