Seoul - South Korea's benchmark Kospi index on Friday lost 10.57 per cent, dropping below the 1,000-point level, the lowest since May 2005, as foreign investors continued to sell stocks.

The Kospi fell 110.96 points, or 10.57 per cent to close at 938.75.

Kospi heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co dropped 5.2 per cent after quarterly profit reports were down to the lowest in three years.

On the currency markets, the won fell to 1,422 against the dollar, down from Thursday's close of 1.408, the lowest finish since June 17,
1998.

Seoul- South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co on Thursday reported a 38-per-cent drop in third-quarter profits because of falling sales and strikes that caused drops in its production.

Net income fell to 264.8 billon won (187 million dollars) from 425.5 billion won in the same quarter in 2007.

Sales shrank 14.5 per cent to 6.1 trillion won.

Despite the decrease, the earnings were higher than analysts had expected, and Hyundai also held to its sales projection for the year of 33 trillion won.

Seoul - Shares continued their freefall Thursda

Seoul - South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co said Wednesday that it was scrapping its 5.85-billion-dollar bid for US memory card maker SanDisk Corp, citing its third-quarter loss and a partnership with Samsung's rival Toshiba Corp.

Lee Yoon Woo, Samsung's chief executive officer, said in a letter to SanDisk's board that the Milpitas, California-based company faced "uncertain earnings prospects," which could worsen with the downturn in the global economy and the outlook for the chip industry.

He added that the two companies had been in negotiations for half a year without making progress on a deal.

Seoul - Shares extended their losses Wednesday on the Seoul stock exchange as investors remained worried over the impact of a global recession.