Seoul shares slide

Seoul shares fell on Friday after hopes for a European Union summit faded in the wake of a failed compromise on a treaty change, and as debt-easing measures by Europe's central bank failed to live up to investor expectations. "There wasn't much of a pickup in program orders after yesterday's quadruple witching, and only selloffs were seen as investors cashed out with conflict between European leaders denting hopes of a summit agreement," said Kim Young-Jun, an analyst at SK Securities.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished down 1.97 percent at 1,874.75 points. Early on Friday South Korea's central bank sharply reduced its GDP growth forecast for 2012, reflecting the mounting threat of global contagion from the eurozone debt crisis.
Weak data was also posted in China, with annual inflation rate falling to 4.2 percent in November and raising expectations of a more aggressive policy easing stance. Losses were led by brokerage firms, with shares in Mirae Asset Securities tumbling 5.05 percent and Samsung Securities dipping 3.54 percent. Large-cap shares fell across the board, with Samsung Electronics ending 1.03 percent lower despite cutting losses after legal victories in its court battle with Apple Inc.
Refiners were pressured by a fall in crude oil prices. Shares in S-Oil, South Korea's third largest refiner, were down 3.48 percent while GS Holdings, parent of South Korea's second largest refiner GS Caltex, lost 3.16 percent. Foreign investors were net sellers, dumping 431.2 billion won ($381.1 million) worth of shares on the market. The KOSPI 200 index fell 2.15 percent, while the junior KOSDAQ shed 0.21 percent.