Samsung Elec shares down 3 percent on weaker earnings outlook

SEOUL (Reuters) – Shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd slumped 3 percent to nine-month lows on Wednesday, as investors braced for weaker-than-expected earnings from the smartphone maker for the April-to-June period.

Shinhan Investment Corp joined a number of brokerages in cutting its target price for the South Korean technology giant, forecasting smartphone shipments and earnings would be less than it had previously expected.

Samsung Electronics shares were set to fall for a sixth consecutive session. They were down 3.1 percent to 1,257,000 Korean won ($1,100) as of 11:43 p.m. ET, underperforming the wider market’s 0.2 percent drop. This was their lowest level since September 11 last year.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin- Editing by Stephen Coates)