KOSPI Hesitates, KOSDAQ Soars... Surpasses 930, Highest Since the 'Dotcom Bubble'

KOSPI Starts Slightly Lower, Drops to 2730 Level
KOSDAQ Hits Record High... Highest in 20 Years Since Dot-com Bubble

On the 8th, employees are working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI opened slightly lower compared to the previous day, marking its first decline since the 27th of last month. After a recent sharp rise, the market appears to be taking a breather. In contrast, the KOSDAQ showed an upward trend, reaching its highest level in about 20 years since the collapse of the dot-com bubble in 2000.

On the 8th, the KOSPI opened at 2745.13, down 0.01% (0.31 points) from the previous day. It then fell further to 2730.73, widening its losses. This follows the intraday all-time high of 2754.01 recorded the previous day, showing some hesitation.

Only individual investors showed net buying, purchasing stocks worth 111 billion KRW. Meanwhile, foreign investors and institutions were net sellers, offloading 83.9 billion KRW and 23.3 billion KRW respectively.

Many sectors declined. Pharmaceuticals saw the largest drop at -1.47%. This was followed by banks (-0.94%), paper & wood (-0.92%), steel & metals (-0.91%), and electricity & gas (-0.90%). On the other hand, machinery (1.46%) and transportation & warehousing (0.45%) sectors rose.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization sectors were down. Samsung Biologics had the largest decline at -2.9%, followed by Celltrion (-2.2%), Hyundai Motor (-2.0%), and Kia Motors (-1.2%). Samsung SDI (3.4%) and LG Chem (0.1%) rose. Samsung Electronics remained flat.

Meanwhile, the KOSDAQ continued its upward momentum. It rose 0.09% (0.81 points) from the previous day to 927.69, then extended gains to surpass the 930 mark. As of 9:17 AM, it reached 933.14, the highest level in about 20 years since October 2000 when the dot-com bubble burst.

In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors also led the buying, with net purchases of 27.6 billion KRW, while foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 4.8 billion KRW and 14 billion KRW respectively.

Most sectors showed gains. Broadcasting services rose the most at 2.49%, followed by entertainment & culture (2.05%), telecommunications & broadcasting services (1.89%), medical & precision instruments (1.29%), and information devices (1.19%). Transportation equipment & parts (-1.85%) and publishing & media reproduction (-0.85%) declined.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, many rose. EcoPro BM led with a 3.5% increase, followed by Alteogen (2.1%), Seegene (1.8%), Kakao Games (1.3%), Pearl Abyss (0.9%), and KMW (0.2%). HL Biopharma (-4.0%), Celltrion Pharm (-4.0%), Genexine (-3.3%), and Celltrion Healthcare (-1.9%) declined.

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