South Korean stocks retreated 2.36 percent to close at a six-week low on Wednesday, as investors offloaded shares of big caps amid concerns over U.S. economic growth data, analysts said. The local currency dropped against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark KOSPI plunged 43.18 points to 1,783.1, closing below the 1,800 mark for the first time since Oct. 11. Trading volume was moderate at 406.8 million shares worth 4.59 trillion won ($3.99 billion), with decliners far outnumbering gainers 678 to 174.

“Data showed that U.S. economic growth slowed in the third quarter. This added on to lingering worries over a possible credit outlook downgrade of the United States and France,” said Kim Young-jun, an analyst at SK Securities Co.

Kim added that program selling also weighed down the market by pummeling share prices of large caps.

Shares lost ground across the board, with big-cap technology companies leading the decline. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 2.91 percent to 935,000 won and Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s No. 2 memory chip maker, plunged 6.02 percent to 21,850 won.

Steelmakers also underwent steep losses with industry leader POSCO losing 3.14 percent to 355,000 won and smaller player Hyundai Steel dropping 5.88 percent to 92,800 won.

The fall came after Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday cut its outlook for Hyundai Steel to negative from stable, citing financial risks and bleak industry outlook. 

(Yonhap News)