Domestic Stock Market Closes with KOSPI Down 2% and KOSDAQ Down 4%... "Impact of COVID-19 Resurgence"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] The KOSPI closed down over 2%, breaking below the 2400 level due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The KOSDAQ market also ended the day down over 4%.

On the 18th, the KOSPI index closed at 2348.24, down 59.25 points (2.46%) from the previous session. The index opened at 2405.84, down 1.65 points (0.07%), and the decline widened as the day progressed. This is the first time in five trading days since it recovered above 2400 at 2418.67 on the 11th, marking the first time in 2 years and 2 months.

Concerns over a resurgence of COVID-19 in South Korea weighed on the index. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight, 246 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed. The total number of confirmed cases surged to 991 over the past five days.

In the KOSPI market, individual investors sold heavily. On the day, individuals sold stocks worth 527.1 billion KRW to realize profits. In contrast, foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 72.2 billion KRW and 478.4 billion KRW, respectively.

By sector, insurance (-6.64%), electric and gas utilities (-6.00%), transportation and warehousing (-5.53%), retail (-5.44%), textiles and apparel (-5.30%), and construction (-5.20%) experienced significant declines. By market capitalization, large-cap stocks (-2.07%), mid-cap stocks (-4.10%), and small-cap stocks (-4.98%) all showed downward trends.

Among the top market capitalization companies, most stocks except for some large caps saw significant declines. Samsung Electronics (0.69%), Samsung Biologics (0.25%), and Kakao (4.28%) were among the few large caps that rose, helping to cushion the index's decline.

On the other hand, Samsung SDI (-2.48%), LG Household & Health Care (-4.15%), Samsung C&T (-6.05%), Hyundai Mobis (-4.24%), SK Telecom (-3.38%), and NCSoft (-4.36%) showed large drops.

The KOSDAQ index also showed a sharp decline of over 4%. The index closed at 800.22, down 34.81 points (4.17%) from the previous day. It opened at 834.55, down 0.48 points (0.06%) from the previous session, and continued to fall throughout the day. At one point, the KOSDAQ fell below the 800 level intraday.

By investor type, individuals were net buyers of 312.9 billion KRW, while foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 88.9 billion KRW and 177.6 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all except Seegene (19.02%) and Genexine (1.26%) declined. Celltrion Healthcare (-3.84%), Alteogen (-3.81%), HLB (-4.36%), and Celltrion Pharm (-3.19%) all showed declines of over 3%.

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