KOSPI Falls 4.8% and KOSDAQ Drops Over 7%... "Concerns Rise Over COVID Resurgence and North Korea's Military Provocations"

Institutions and Foreigners Net Sell 1.2 Trillion KRW on KOSPI
Samsung Electronics Drops 5%, Celltrion Trio Falls Over 7%

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices closed lower amid concerns over the resurgence of COVID-19 and the increased possibility of North Korea's military provocations.

On the 15th, the KOSPI ended the session at 2030.82, down 4.76% (101.48 points) from the previous day. In the securities market that day, foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 474.2 billion KRW and 764.5 billion KRW respectively, while individual investors alone bought stocks worth 1.2423 trillion KRW.

The KOSPI plunged as concerns mixed over the expansion of economic uncertainty due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and the possibility of North Korea taking concrete military actions. Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, explained, “Concerns over the rise in COVID-19 cases originating from the U.S. have become prominent, leading to a downward trend. After the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy report submitted last Friday mentioned heightened economic uncertainty, sell-offs appeared across Asian markets including U.S. after-hours futures.”

Additionally, the market wavered again when Moon Jung-in, the President’s special advisor on unification, diplomacy, and security, who attended the 20th anniversary event of the June 15th Joint Declaration hosted by the Democratic Party of Korea, assessed North Korea’s threat by stating, “North Korea may take military action, so a strong defense posture must be maintained.”

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all fell except SK (8.96%), Samsung C&T (3.23%), and Samsung Biologics (0.37%). The leading stock Samsung Electronics plunged about 5% to 49,900 KRW from the previous day, while SK Hynix (-3.76%), Naver (-4.34%), Celltrion (-7.90%), LG Chem (-7.36%), and Samsung SDI (-8.71%) also declined.

The KOSDAQ index closed at 693.15, plunging 7.09% (52.91 points) from the previous day. On that day, individual investors bought stocks worth 272.2 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 132.4 billion KRW and 138.3 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all showed declines except for Seegene. Celltrion Healthcare (-7.38%), Celltrion Pharm (-7.93%), HL Biopharma (-5.22%), Alteogen (-8.25%), Pearl Abyss (-4.22%), and EcoPro BM (-9.66%) also fell.

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