The South Korean stock market declined sharply in the third quarter, shedding 189 trillion won ($140 billion) in market capitalization. Samsung Electronics, the country’s largest company by market value, lost nearly 120 trillion won ($88 billion) in just three months.
The market capitalization of 2,720 listed companies, excluding preferred shares, amounted to 2,432 trillion won by the end of September, down 7.2% from late June, according to market tracker Korea CXO Research Institute on Oct. 7. The data compared the stocks’ market capitalization and rankings based on closing prices on June 28 and Sept. 30.
The market slump affected the majority of stocks, with 70.7%, or 1,924 of companies surveyed, losing market value in the third quarter. Only 678 stocks (24.9%) posted gains. Additionally, 118 stocks (4.3%) were newly listed or remained unchanged in terms of market capitalization during the quarter.
A total of 21 stocks saw their market capitalization increase by over 1 trillion won in the third quarter. LG Energy Solution recorded the largest gain, with its market value rising 27% to 96.9 trillion won. Samsung Biologics followed suit, with its market value increasing 34.4% to 69.6 trillion won.
