Individual and Foreign Buyers Strong... KOSPI Starts Up 0.60%

Early in the session, nearly 1% rise... Foreigners net buy over 200 billion won in KOSDAQ

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[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Despite concerns over the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices started higher.

On the 1st, the KOSPI opened at 2340.19, up 0.60% (14.02 points) from the previous day. It continued its upward trend, recording 2348.93, up 0.98% from the previous day, as of 9:25 a.m.

It appears that buying by individuals and foreigners drove the index rebound. Individuals and foreigners net bought 76.6 billion KRW and 14.3 billion KRW, respectively. Meanwhile, institutions net sold 94 billion KRW.

Most sectors showed gains. Transportation and warehousing (1.48%), construction (1.36%), and transportation equipment (1.23%) had relatively large increases. On the other hand, machinery (-1.13%) and telecommunications (-0.78%) declined.

Almost all of the top 10 market capitalization stocks rose. LG Household & Health Care had the largest gain at 2.2%. It was followed by Samsung Biologics (1.0%), SK Hynix (0.6%), and Samsung Electronics (0.5%). Conversely, LG Chem fell by 0.2%.

The KOSDAQ also opened slightly higher at 850.58, up 0.28% (2.34 points) from the previous day. It recorded 850.65 as of 9:25 a.m.

Foreigners showed strong buying momentum, net purchasing 209.4 billion KRW. In contrast, individuals and institutions net sold 106.2 billion KRW and 113.8 billion KRW, respectively.

Sector-wise, gains and losses were mixed. Transportation equipment and parts (1.94%), broadcasting services (1.67%), and internet (1.56%) rose, while telecommunications equipment (-1.20%), paper and wood (-0.60%), and software (-0.54%) declined.

Among the top 10 market cap stocks, declines were predominant. Alteogen fell the most at -3.4%, followed by KMV (-1.8%), SK Materials (-1.3%), and EcoPro BM (-1.2%). Only HL Biopharma (3.6%), CJ ENM (2.6%), and Genexine (0.5%) rose.

Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The slowdown in the U.S. economic recovery is weakening foreign buying momentum, which is a burden on the domestic stock market," adding, "There may be some concentration on certain stocks, but it is unlikely to continue if it is detached from corporate value."

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