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S. Korea ranks 17th among G-20 countries in stock market performance in 2018

By Yonhap

Published : Dec. 29, 2018 - 10:44

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South Korea's stock market fared ill this year compared with major countries amid global economic uncertainties, data showed Saturday.

Of the 20 major countries in the world, South Korea came in 17th in terms of the growth rate of its key stock index by tumbling 17.79 percent this year, according to the data from the Korea Exchange.

Brazil topped the list as its key index spiked 11.86 percent this year, followed by Saudi Arabia with a 7.24 percent increase and India rising 5.14 percent in 2018.

Excluding the three aforementioned counties, the remaining 17 nations logged negative growth this year, according to the data.


(Yonhap) (Yonhap)


The United States saw its key index fall 6.39 percent, while Japan's major index decreased 11.8 percent.

The three nations that performed worse than South Korea were Germany, Turkey and China, the KRX noted.

The bearish market across the globe is attributable to growing uncertainties over the global economic circumstances due mainly to trade spats between the US and China, according to experts.

The US central bank also raised its benchmark interest rate four times this year, sparking concerns over the contraction of global liquidity, they noted.

"South Korea's heavy dependence on and close linkage to the US and China in economic terms appears to have caused its stock market to skid deeper," said Min Byung-kyu, an expert at Yuanta Securities. (Yonhap)