KOSPI Closes Up at 1857.08 Due to Large-Scale Purchases by Pension Funds

Published 14 Apr.2020 16:08(KST)

Individual Selling of 429.1 Billion KRW and Institutional Net Buying of 426.9 Billion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI closed higher due to large-scale buying by pension funds. Meanwhile, individual investors turned to selling.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 14th, the KOSPI ended the session at 1857.08, up 1.72% (31.32 points) from the previous session. The KOSPI opened at 1846.41, up 1.13% (20.65 points) from the previous session, and maintained an upward trend throughout the day.

In the stock market that day, individual investors and foreigners sold stocks worth 429.1 billion KRW and 14.7 billion KRW, respectively. Individual investors returned to net selling after six trading days, having sold stocks worth 843 billion KRW on the 6th. On the other hand, institutional investors purchased stocks worth 426.9 billion KRW. In particular, pension funds bought stocks worth 241.6 billion KRW.

Ji-yoon Kim, a researcher at Daishin Securities, explained, "The KOSPI rose intraday to the 1860 level due to net buying inflows by institutions and pension funds," adding, "Expectations that the peak of COVID-19 spread in the U.S. has passed and news of discussions on resuming economic activities acted as positive factors."

The sectors with the highest gains included telecommunications (3.45%), construction (3.39%), textiles and apparel (2.97%), and electricity and gas (2.88%).

Among the top market capitalization stocks that day, most rose, including Samsung Electronics (1.45%), SK Hynix (1.11%), Samsung Biologics (0.56%), Celltrion (0.23%), and LG Chem (3.65%).

The KOSDAQ index closed at 610.29, up 2.28% (13.58 points) from the previous session. It opened at 605.14, up 1.41% (8.43 points) from the previous session. In the KOSDAQ market that day, individuals sold stocks worth 168.7 billion KRW. Foreigners and institutions bought stocks worth 180.4 billion KRW and 0.8 billion KRW, respectively.

By sector, transportation parts and equipment (6.09%), entertainment and culture (4.65%), telecommunications equipment (4.08%), and construction (3.62%) showed high gains.

Among the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ, Celltrion Healthcare closed at 81,100 KRW, down 0.49% from the previous session. Others such as Celltrion Pharm (-2.97%) and Seegene (-4.97%) also declined.