Despite Institutional Net Selling of 1.7 Trillion Won, KOSPI Holds at 2800 Level... KOSDAQ Rises Over 2.5%

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Although institutions are selling stocks worth 1.7 trillion KRW on the ex-dividend date of the 29th, the KOSPI is maintaining the 2800 level as individuals are buying stocks worth about 2 trillion KRW.

At 1:12 PM on the day, the KOSPI was at 2807.05, down 0.06% (1.55 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2810.55, up 0.07% (1.95 points) from the previous day, but turned downward as selling pressure emerged mainly from foreigners and institutions.

On the 29th, when the KOSPI started weak, employees were working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. On that day, the KOSPI index opened at 2,810.55, up 1.95 points (0.07%) from the previous day, and the KOSDAQ index opened at 928.58, up 1.58 points (0.17%) from the previous day. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Looking at investor trends, institutions sold stocks worth 1.7256 trillion KRW, and foreigners net sold stocks worth 269.3 billion KRW. Individuals alone are buying stocks worth 1.9437 trillion KRW.

Kim Yong-gu, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said, “The institutions’ selling volume is interpreted as the liquidation of dividend arbitrage trades by financial investors, which are released quarterly on the ex-dividend date. Financial investment firms have purchased 4 trillion KRW worth of KOSPI 200 spot stocks this month, but given the current situation, it is more profitable to hold futures long and spot short positions, so selling pressure is likely to continue.”

The ex-dividend date is the day when the opportunity to receive dividends disappears, and the index typically shows a downward trend compared to the previous day. According to the ex-dividend index provided earlier by the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI was expected to open at 2764.33 points, down about 1.58% (44.27 points) from the previous day, but the current index exceeds this level.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics recorded 77,900 KRW, down 1.02% from the previous trading day. SK Hynix (-0.43%), LG Chem (-0.73%), and Hyundai Motor (-0.53%) also declined. On the other hand, Celltrion (8.55%), Samsung SDI (6.44%), and Kakao (2.68%) showed upward trends.

The KOSDAQ index at the same time was at 950.30, down 2.51% (23.30 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ index opened at 928.58, up 0.17% (1.58 points) from the previous day, and the buying momentum from individuals and foreigners continued, expanding the gains. Looking at investor trends, individuals bought stocks worth 347.7 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market, and foreigners net bought 9.6 billion KRW. Institutions alone sold stocks worth 321.5 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (7.31%), Seegene (11.14%), Alteogen (13.42%), EcoPro BM (1.87%), and KMH (3.61%) rose.

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