Asian stock prices tumble for fear of inflation

Stock prices across Asia plummeted over the fear of inflation triggered by the U.S. On Thursday, KOSPI was closed at 3,122.11, down 39.55 points (1.25%) from the previous day. Having reached a record high on Monday, KOSPI continued to dip by more than 1%, losing 127 points over three days in a row.

Having posted a net selling of nearly 5 trillion won over the last two days, foreign investors fueled the downward momentum on Thursday, selling roughly 1.43 trillion won. Individuals and institutional investors each bought 1.44 trillion won and 6.3 billion won, which was far from enough to prevent the plunging. Samsung Electronics, one of the biggest blue chips in KOSPI, tumbled below the 80,000 mark to close at 78,500 won, down 1.88% from Wednesday. This is the lowest point that the electronics giant recorded since December 29 last year. Other Asian stock markets – including Japan (-2.49%), Taiwan (-1.46%), China (-0.96%), and Hong Kong (-1.45%) – saw their share prices collectively fall.

Amid soaring prices of raw materials and overheated asset market, fear over inflation is weighing down on the global financial market with the consumer prices in the U.S. jumping at the steepest clip in 13 years. Concerns are being stoked that the central banks in each country will buckle down to increasing interest rates earlier than expected.


zion37@donga.com