South Korean Market Declines

 The South Korean stock market is trading sharply lower on Monday as disappointing U.S. jobs data and concerns over Hungary's debt problems triggered a sell-off.

In late morning trades, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI is losing 45.28 points or 2.72% to 1,618.85.

The KOSPI finished flat on Friday as gains from the technology stocks were wiped out by selling from the financials and the steel companies. For the day, the index gained 2.29 points or 0.01% to finish at 1,664.13.

In the tech space, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics is currently down 1.6%, Hynix Semiconductor is losing 1.9%, LG Display LCD is declining 3.6% and LG Electronics is down 4.7%.

Among auto stocks, Kia Motors is gaining 0.47%, while Ssangyong Motor is losing 6.2% and Hyundai Motor is down 1.12%.

Oil stock SK Holdings is down 3.4% and S-Oil is declining 3.95%, while energy stock KEPCO is losing 3.6%. Steel maker Hyundai Steel and POSCO are down more than 2.5% each.

In the banking sector, KB Financial, Korea Exchange Bank and Woori Finance are down 4% each. Shinhan Financial is down more than 5%.

Among shipbuilders, Hyundai Heavy Industries is down 4.1% and Samsung Heavy Industries is down 3.9%, while Daewoo Shipbuilding is losing 2.5%.

In the telecom space, SK Telecom is down 1.5% and KT Corp. is losing 1.9%.

On the economic front, South Korea posted a trade surplus of US$6.88 billion in the information technology product sector in May, led by increased demand for semiconductors and display panels. According to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the country's IT exports for the month surged 32.8% on-year to US$12.81 billion, the 12th consecutive month that the total has exceeded the US$10 billion mark. Imports gained 20.8% on-year to US$5.93 billion.

In the currency market, the South Korean won was trading at 1,234.90 won to the U.S. dollar in late trades Monday, down 33.10 won from Friday's close of 1,201.8 won.

On Wall Street, stocks saw significant losses to close out the week on Friday, as worries regarding the escalating European debt crisis, the prospects of growth in the U.S. labor market and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico generated significant selling pressure. The major averages all closed firmly lower, with the Dow closing below the 10,000 level.

The Dow plunged by 323.31 points or 3.2% to 9,931.97, the Nasdaq fell by 83.86 points or 3.6% to 2,219.17 and the S&P 500 slid by 37.5 points or 3.4% to 1,064.88.

Crude oil prices fell 4% on Friday, sliding below US$72 a barrel as disappointing U.S. employment data and fresh fears about Europe's bank woes spreading made investors risk averse and worried about the economic recovery. July crude fell US$3.10 or 4.15% to settle at US$71.51 a barrel, the lowest close since May 26.