KOSPI Plummets Over 3% and KOSDAQ Drops Over 4% Amid Pandemic Fears

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI plunged to the 1830 level in an instant following the World Health Organization (WHO)'s pandemic declaration.

On the 12th, when the KOSPI plunged intraday to the 1813 level, an employee in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul, was watching the live broadcast of U.S. President Trump's press conference on COVID-19. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

At 10:47 a.m. on the 12th, the KOSPI was at 1,835.17, down 3.83% (73.10 points) from the previous session. The KOSPI opened at 1,887.97, down 20.30 points (1.06%) from the previous session, and the decline widened during the trading session.

On the Korea Stock Exchange, foreigners alone sold stocks worth 308 billion KRW. Individuals and institutions were net buyers of 115.4 billion KRW and 168.2 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics traded at 51,000 KRW, down 3.84% from the previous session. SK Hynix (-4.91%), Samsung Biologics (-2.71%), and Naver (-2.35%) also showed downward trends.

The KOSDAQ index is currently at 572.48, down 3.88% (23.13 points) from the previous session. The KOSDAQ opened at 589.20, down 1.08% (6.41 points) from the previous session, and the decline is expanding.

Currently, foreigners are net buyers of 61.3 billion KRW, while individuals and institutions are net sellers of 56.5 billion KRW and 5 billion KRW, respectively. Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (-1.36%), HL Biopharma (-0.72%), and CJ ENM (-4.70%) are maintaining downward trends. Ecopro BM (0.13%) and Seegene (0.34%) are on the rise.

Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, explained, “For Korea, which is highly dependent on exports, concerns about economic slowdown due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) can negatively affect investor sentiment,” adding, “The fact that global stock markets have entered a bear market after the WHO declared a pandemic is also negative for the domestic stock market.”

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