South Korea lagged far behind major countries in growth of stock prices this year due mainly to lackluster private consumption and a slowdown in export performance upon Japan’s weakening yen.

According to an adjusted index unveiled by the U.S.-based Morgan Stanley Capital International, the country recorded minus 0.5 percent growth on-quarter of composite equity prices during the first quarter.

The MSCI Index for the shares on the Korean bourse dropped from 575.311 at the end of 2012 to 572.151 as of March 29.

The index showed that Korea ranked 12th among 18 major countries. Japan posted growth of 24.8 percent in equity prices, followed by Indonesia with 12.7 percent and the United States with 9.6 percent.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)