April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s main KOSPI bourse lags behind other markets in the world’s 20 major economies amid the global stock market boom, data showed on Jan. 25.

The benchmark KOSPI has soared 2.5 percent since Dec. 1 last year, according to data released by the bourse operator Korea Exchange.

The KOSPI ranked 18th among the G20 economies in terms of stock market performance, only outperforming those of Canada and Australia, which rose 2 percent each during the same time span.

Argentina topped the list at 25.8 percent, followed by Turkey at 14.3 percent, Russia at 13.3 percent, Brazil at 11.6 percent, Indonesia at 11.5 percent and India at 10.1 percent.

The United States came in seventh at 8.2 percent.

The comparable figures for Britain, Japan and Germany were 5.9 percent, 5.7 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

“The weak KOSPI is attributable to uncertainties for the fourth quarter of last year caused by the strong won,” Lee Kyung-min of Daeshin Securities said. “IT firms account for more than half of the operating profits earned by the companies listed on the KOSPI market and the recent surging of the Korean won has been fueling uncertainties on earnings.”

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)