KOSPI Ends Lower Amid Foreigners' 1 Trillion Won Sell-Off... "Impact of COVID-19 Resurgence"

Foreigners Net Sell 460 Billion KRW in Electric and Electronics Sector
Individuals Net Buy 1.5 Trillion KRW in KOSPI Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Amid growing uncertainty in the real economy due to the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), foreigners sold stocks worth over 1 trillion won, causing the KOSPI to close down by more than 1%. Meanwhile, individual investors defended the index decline by net buying stocks worth over 1.5 trillion won.

On the 31st, the KOSPI closed at 2,327.17, down 1.17% (27.63 points) from the previous session. The KOSPI opened at 2,377.09, up 0.99% (23.29 points) from the previous session, but turned downward as foreign selling intensified.

On the morning of the 31st, dealers are working in the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On this day in the KOSPI market, foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 1.6224 trillion won and 6 billion won, respectively. Although individuals bought stocks worth 1.5671 trillion won, it was insufficient to prevent the index from falling.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics closed at 54,000 won, down 2.53% from the previous session. SK Hynix also ended trading at 75,100 won, down 3.47% from the previous session. In addition, Naver (-3.15%), LG Chem (-2.5%), Samsung Biologics (-2.63%), and Celltrion (-2.46%) also declined.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index closed at 848.24, up 0.82% (6.94 points) from the previous session. In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors and institutions sold stocks worth 159.1 billion won and 79.4 billion won, respectively. Foreigners alone bought stocks worth 251.8 billion won.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Seegene closed at 263,000 won, up 6.78% from the previous session. Alteogen (13.52%), Genexine (3.81%), CJ ENM (0.51%), and SK Materials (0.45%) also ended higher.

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, analyzed, “The index fell sharply due to poor real economy indicators in July and foreign net selling acting as negative factors,” adding, “Foreigners led the stock market decline by net selling stocks worth 460 billion won in the electrical and electronics sector.” He further noted, “With the implementation of social distancing level 2.5, domestic consumption uncertainty has intensified, causing the KOSPI’s relative weakness compared to global stock markets to continue.”

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