Samsung, LG Lead Declines Among Electronics Makers: Seoul Mover
February 23, 2012, 6:20 PM ESTBy Jun Yang and Saeromi Shin
Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. fell the most in two months in Seoul trading, retreating from a record yesterday as rising oil prices and economic data raised concern that demand for electronics goods may soften.
Samsung, the world’s biggest maker of televisions, dropped 3.1 percent to 1.16 million won at the close on the Korea Exchange, its steepest decline since Dec. 19. LG Electronics Inc., which climbed to an eight-month high last week, fell 4.4 percent to 84,100 won. The benchmark Kospi index lost 1 percent.
Crude futures in New York increased to $106.28 a barrel yesterday, the highest since May 4. European services and manufacturing output shrank in February, Markit Economics said, and Taiwan cut its 2012 growth forecast yesterday, while U.S. sales of previously owned houses missed economists’ forecasts, according to an industry report.
“Recent solid gains in the shares and some weak economic readings are leading investors to sell, locking in gains,” Kim Jae Dong, the head of equity at SEI Asset Korea Co., which manages about $5.6 billion in assets, said by phone today. “Higher oil prices raise some concern that global demand for consumer goods could slow.”
--Editors: Brett Miller, Darren Boey
To contact the reporters on this story: Jun Yang in Seoul at jyang180@bloomberg.net Saeromi Shin in Seoul at sshin15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at mtighe4@bloomberg.net Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net
