Concerns Over COVID-19 Resurgence, KOSPI and KOSDAQ Plunge 3% and 5%

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices are sharply falling due to selling pressure from institutions and foreigners.

As of 2:40 PM on the 15th, the KOSPI is at 2055.10, down 3.62% (77.20 points) from the previous session. In the current securities market, foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 420.9 billion KRW and 613.8 billion KRW respectively, while individuals alone bought stocks worth 1.0344 trillion KRW.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all are declining except SK (8.42%) and Samsung C&T (4.15%). Samsung Electronics traded at 50,800 KRW, down 2.87% from the previous session, and SK Hynix (-1.76%), Samsung Biologics (-2.24%), Naver (-3.10%), and Celltrion (-7.56%) are also falling.

Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, explained, “Concerns over the increase in COVID-19 cases originating from the U.S. have emerged, causing the decline. When the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy report submitted last Friday mentioned heightened economic uncertainty, selling pressure appeared across the Asian markets, including U.S. after-hours futures.”

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is also down 5.73% (42.78 points) from the previous session, standing at 703.28. In the KOSDAQ market, individuals bought stocks worth 295.8 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 207.4 billion KRW and 80.8 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all are declining except Seegene (2.51%). Celltrion Healthcare (-7%), HL Biopharma (-3.26%), Celltrion Pharm (-7.85%), Alteogen (-5.37%), and Pearl Abyss (-3.25%) also fell.

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