KOSPI Opens at 2160 Level, Up from Previous Day

Slight Rebound Amid Growing Concerns Over Wuhan Pneumonia
Volatility to Remain High for Now... "Stability Expected After Global Stimulus Measures Take Effect"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] On the 31st, both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ opened higher.

That morning, the KOSPI started at 2,160.60, up 12.60 points (0.59%) from the previous session. As of 9:22 AM, it recorded 2,149.74, slightly down from the early session.

In the securities market, individuals and institutions net bought 23.2 billion KRW and 19.8 billion KRW respectively. Foreigners net sold 34.4 billion KRW.

Most sectors rose. The paper and wood sector saw the steepest increase at 1.69%. This was followed by medical precision (0.85%), transportation equipment (0.70%), electrical and electronics (0.60%), and construction (0.59%). The machinery sector fell by 0.16%.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks were also on the rise. LG Chem's (1.75%) increase was the largest. This was followed by Celltrion (0.90%), SK Hynix (0.53%), Samsung Electronics (0.52%), and Hyundai Mobis (0.42%). NAVER was the only one to fall, down 0.56%.

Meanwhile, the KOSDAQ also opened at 660.98, up 4.59 points (0.70%) from the previous session. As of 9:22 AM, it was at 656.73, up 0.34 points (0.05%) from the previous trading day.

In the KOSDAQ market, individuals and institutions net bought 700 million KRW and 3.1 billion KRW respectively. Foreigners net sold 200 million KRW.

Again, most sectors were rising. Textile and apparel (1.98%), transportation equipment and parts (1.61%), distribution (1.30%), computer services (1.14%), and software (1.06%) mainly increased.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks were on the rise. Hugel (2.56%) and Celltrion Healthcare (2.50%) had the largest gains. This was followed by HL Biopharma (1.66%), Solbrain (1.34%), and Medytox (0.87%). Only Studio Dragon (0.12%) and Pearl Abyss (0.05%) fell.

Seosangyoung, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Although concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) may cause market volatility to be driven by fear for the time being, considering past cases, the possibility of volatility expanding in the global stock market is low, given that active economic stimulus policies by governments worldwide are likely to accompany this." He added, "Considering that Amazon, which announced good earnings after the U.S. market close, is up more than 12% in after-hours trading, and Western Digital is showing a strong rise of around 6%, this is expected to have a positive impact on the Korean stock market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.