KOSPI Hits Record High Ahead of 'Four Witching Days', Closes Up 2% at 2755.47

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The KOSPI closed with a gain of over 2% ahead of the Quadruple Witching Day on the 10th (the day when the expiration of four stock market derivatives?index futures, index options, individual stock options, and individual stock futures?coincide). The KOSDAQ index also surpassed 910, closing up 0.77%.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 9th, the KOSPI closed at 2,755.47, up 2.02% from the previous trading day. Not only did it quickly recover the losses from the previous day’s sharp drop of over 2%, which had barely held above 2,700, but it also set a new all-time high.

Thanks to net buying of spot and futures by foreign investors, the market succeeded in rebounding. In particular, attention was focused on the progress of additional U.S. stimulus negotiations, while expectations for further approval and administration of COVID-19 vaccines in major countries had a positive effect.

In the KOSPI market that day, individuals sold a net 509.5 billion KRW worth of stocks, while foreigners and institutions bought 162.1 billion KRW and 310.8 billion KRW worth, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics (3.07%), SK Hynix (4.78%), LG Chem (3.08%), and Celltrion (1.00%) rose, while Samsung Biologics (-0.72%) closed lower.

The KOSDAQ index also closed at 913.81, up 0.77% from the previous trading day.

In the KOSDAQ market, individuals and institutions bought net 56.4 billion KRW and 66.7 billion KRW worth of stocks, respectively, while institutions sold a net 57.3 billion KRW worth.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (4.82%), Celltrion Pharm (2.54%), and HL Biopharma (1.34%) rose, while Seegene (-5.81%) and Kakao Games (-0.41%) declined.

Meanwhile, the 10th is the Quadruple Witching Day, which is expected to bring increased volatility.

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "With the ECB meeting and the EU summit on Friday ahead, caution remains high. Although foreign investors showed buying strength today, the selling pressure from the previous day (850 billion KRW) was greater, and a rebound in the pharmaceutical and bio sectors, which triggered the sharp drop in KOSPI the previous day, does not seem easy."

The researcher added, "Currently, the KOSPI is in a tense tug-of-war between the previous rise and the increased decline since yesterday. With a turning point approaching in supply-demand and the foreign exchange market, the flow in the latter half of this week and early next week is expected to determine the short-term direction."

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