According to the Korea Exchange, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,929.98 points on Dec. 19 to lose 4.05 percent compared to the end of last year.
Meanwhile, stock markets in advanced economies showed an uptrend this year, thanks to policy packages. The S&P 500, for example, was reported to reach a new high and gained 14.11 percent during the same period, while the Nikkei 225 index gained 8 percent and the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index jumped close to 50 percent to break the 3,000 mark for the first time in three years. The Jakarta Composite Index and the Indian stock market gained no less than 20.4 percent and approximately 30 percent, respectively.
During the period, the KOSPI was fifth from the bottom in index increase rate among 28 major stock markets. It was followed by Russia (46.75 percent down), Greece (23.54 percent down), and Portugal (26.48 percent down). Russia has been hit by plummeting oil prices as of late, and Greece and Portugal are still stuck in the recent European fiscal crisis.
Samsung Electronics recorded a closing price of 1.328 million won (US$1,211) per share on Dec. 9, losing 3.2 percent from a year earlier. Hyundai Motor Company’s decrement amounted to 23.1 percent. “In those countries that showed better performances this year, economic recovery and stock index rise took place at the same time, and the United States, Japan and China showed significant gains based on the governments’ policy support. But the situation was the other way around in Korea,” said Kim Hak-kyun, investment strategy manager at KDB Daewoo Securities.