KOSPI Lukewarm at 1760 Despite US Stimulus... KOSDAQ Rebounds Over 1%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The KOSPI is struggling despite the aggressive stimulus measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), recording the 1760 level in early trading. Meanwhile, the KOSDAQ index is showing a rebound of around 1% due to net buying by individual investors.

On the 16th, the KOSPI opened at 1805.43, up 33.99 points (1.92%) from the previous trading day. Although the KOSPI started higher, it soon turned downward. Since then, it has been showing mixed trends around the 1770 level. As of 9:25 a.m., it is at 1768.64, down 2.80 points (0.16%) from the previous day.

Earlier, on the 15th (local time), the Fed sharply cut the benchmark interest rate to 'zero (0)' level in response to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Fed announced that it would lower the benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point from the previous 1.00%?1.25% range to 0.00%?0.25%. It also decided to purchase $700 billion worth of government bonds and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to expand liquidity supply.

Despite the Fed's aggressive stimulus measures, the market is struggling. Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, pointed out that the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and the announcement to expand testing significantly from this week make the surge in confirmed cases inevitable, which is a burden. Especially as many parts of Europe are implementing lockdowns, the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. could heighten uncertainty.

Looking at the current trading trends by participant, institutional and foreign investors are net sellers of 245.8 billion KRW and 166.8 billion KRW, respectively. In contrast, individual investors are net buyers of 408.7 billion KRW.

By sector, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, and medical precision equipment are rising, while insurance, finance, and services are falling.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks are declining. NAVER, LG Household & Health Care, Hyundai Mobis, NCSoft, and Samsung C&T are falling, while Celltrion and Samsung Biologics are rising.

Currently, in the KOSPI market, 497 stocks are rising without any hitting the upper limit, 344 stocks are falling without any hitting the lower limit, and 56 stocks are unchanged.

On the other hand, the KOSDAQ index is rising due to net buying by individual investors. The KOSDAQ index opened at 538.68, up 14.68 points (2.80%) from the previous trading day, maintaining an increase of around 1% in early trading. As of 9:25 a.m., it is at 532.05, up 8.05 points (1.54%) from the previous day.

Looking at the current supply and demand situation, individual and foreign investors are net buyers of 45.9 billion KRW and 5.8 billion KRW, respectively, leading the index rise. In contrast, institutional investors are net sellers of 51.2 billion KRW.

By sector, transportation equipment and parts, paper and wood, and other services are rising, while broadcasting services and transportation are falling.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, HL Biopharma, Seegene, KMW, Wonik IPS, and Helixmith are rising. Meanwhile, Hugel, SK Materials, and CJ ENM are falling.

Currently, in the KOSDAQ market, including one stock hitting the upper limit, 863 stocks are rising, 399 stocks are falling without any hitting the lower limit, and 61 stocks are unchanged.

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