SEOUL, Dec 21: Seoul shares gave up earlier gains and headed lower on Friday, led by Samsung Electronics, as US House Speaker John Boehner abandoned his ‘fiscal cliff’ plan, muddying the outlook for the negotiations.
‘Investors are disappointed by the latest development on fiscal talks. The market will continue to be swayed by the state of US budget negotiations,’ said Kim Soo-young, an analyst at KB Securities.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 0.9 percent at 1981.50 points as of 0234 GMT.
Samsung Electronics, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of the KOSPI’s market value, led the index’s falls, touching their lowest intraday levels in two weeks on Friday.
Samsung Electronics’ shares, which hit a series of record-highs last week, were traded down 3.2 percent at 1,455,000 Korean won.
‘Samsung shares are undergoing a correction because they have risen so sharply in a short term,’ said Im Do-ri, a technical analyst at Shinyoung Securities.
EU regulators are poised to accuse Samsung Electronics of breaking competition rules in filing patent lawsuits against rival Apple, while Apple argued that a U.S. Appeals court should reconsider its decision to overturn a potential sales ban on Samsung for patent infringement.
The construction and energy/chemicals sectors were among the worst performers, whereas insurers and health care firms rose.
(AGENCIES)
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