[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI index has fallen 6.65% since the beginning of the year. This contrasts with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and the U.S. S & P500 Index, which rose 9.1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, during the same period. On the other hand, China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 6.8% and 9.6%, similar to the Korean stock market.

Shares with a high proportion of China also fell sharply at the beginning of the year. According to the Korea Economic Daily's survey of companies among KOSPI 50 index stocks with more than 10% of China based on cumulative sales in the first and third quarters of last year, POSCO Future M fell 26% at the beginning of the year, the biggest drop. POSCO FutureM accounted for 12.4% of its sales in the first to third quarters of last year.

Chemical companies also saw their stock prices fall sharply at the beginning of the year. LG Chem's stock price has fallen 21.6% and Lotte Chemical's 21.5% since the beginning of the year. China accounted for 20.8 percent and 16.4 percent of the two companies' sales in the first to third quarters of last year, respectively. According to the Korea Credit Rating, Korean petrochemical companies accounted for 38% of exports to China as of 2022, second only to semiconductors (40%).

Steel companies, which account for a large portion of exports to China, also saw their stock prices fall sharply at the beginning of the year. POSCO Holdings, the steel giant, fell 19.3% at the beginning of the year, Dongkuk Steel 16.2% and Hyundai Steel 9.8%. Among cosmetics stocks, LG Household & Health Care (-10.1%), which accounts for a large portion of exports to China, Shilla Hotel (-8.8%) and Shinsegae (-9.4%), which are domestic companies but account for a large portion of Chinese tourists, are also weak.

 

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