Seoul, Aug 2 — Prices of seven out of 10 stocks listed on South Korea's main and secondary stock markets fell last month as the country's bourses posted their steepest monthly declines since the 2008 global financial crisis, market data showed on Sunday.
A total of 1,859 stocks had closed lower as of Friday than at the end of June, according to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), reports Yonhap news agency.
They accounted for some 70 percent of a total of 2,645 companies listed on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the tech-heavy Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ).
By market, 566 stocks, or 62 percent of the KOSPI's 917 listed companies, declined, while 1,293 stocks, or 75 percent of the KOSDAQ's 1,728 listings, also fell.
The KOSPI tumbled 22.2 percent in July from a month earlier, while the KOSDAQ dropped 21.4 percent.
The monthly declines were the steepest since October 2008, when global markets were battered by the global financial crisis.
Among KOSDAQ-listed companies, biotechnology firm Kolon TissueGene was the biggest loser, plunging 86 percent during the month to 13,000 won (US$8.99) from 93,600 won. It was followed by The Technology, which fell 76 percent, and Kolon Life Science, which slid 67 percent.
In regard to KOSPI-traded companies, Contentree JoongAng plunged 67 percent after its parent, JoongAng Group, came under pressure from a liquidity crunch.
"The KOSPI has remained in an oversold state amid heavy selling pressure," Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said. "Going forward, investor sentiment is likely to recover on the back of strong earnings from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix."
Meanwhile, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said that new strict regulations will be implemented in early August to curb "split listing" by conglomerates, in a bid to bolster the fiduciary duty of listed firms and interests of ordinary shareholders.
Split listing, also referred to as duplicate listing, occurs when a core business division is spun off and listed separately, and has long been cited as one of the major reasons behind relatively low values for local stocks.