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After the US raised the key interest rate and said that it would continue tightening in the future, the aftermath is fierce.

Following yesterday (22nd), the financial market was shaken today as well, and the KOSPI index collapsed at the 2,300 level, dropping to the level it was almost two years ago.



By Kim Jung-woo, staff reporter.



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As soon as the market opened at 9 a.m., the stock market, which had been uneasy, eventually collapsed.



The KOSPI index plunged 42 points or 2% from yesterday, breaking the 2,300 line.



Based on the closing price, this is the lowest level since October 30, 2020.



The KOSDAQ was also sluggish, and the won-dollar exchange rate fluctuated around 1,410 won.



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Most of all, foreign investors have moved away as the US central bank announces its intention to raise the key interest rate.



This month, foreign investors have sold a whopping 2.1 trillion won worth of the KOSPI market.



The attractiveness of investing in domestic stocks has decreased as the value of our money and the won has fallen relative to other major currencies compared to the dollar.



Korea's high dependence on energy imports is also a negative factor.



As international energy prices soar, more dollars are needed to buy as much as before, resulting in a wide trade deficit and a depreciation of the won, continuing a vicious cycle.



[Park Sang-hyun / Hi Investment & Securities Researcher: Korea is the most vulnerable country in the high oil price situation.

This structure in which the domestic and foreign trade deficit continues to expand is putting a burden on the value of the won.]



As an emergency measure to stabilize the exchange rate, the foreign exchange authorities decided to sign a currency swap contract with the National Pension Service up to $10 billion.



The idea is that the National Pension Service will lend the dollars it needs to buy overseas stocks or bonds from the dollars held by the Bank of Korea.



The foreign exchange authorities expect that when the National Pension Service no longer needs to buy dollars in the foreign exchange market, demand will decrease and the dollar price will stabilize.



(Video coverage: Lee Sang-hak, video editing: Kim Jong-mi, VJ: Park Hyun-woo)