KOSPI Surpasses 3000 Intraday for the First Time... Closes at 2960 Due to Foreign and Institutional Selling

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 6th, the KOSPI broke through the 3000-point mark for the first time ever during intraday trading, making new history in its 38 years since inception. However, as profit-taking desires grew, the index closed lower at the 2960 level due to combined selling pressure from foreigners and institutions.

According to the Korea Exchange on the day, the KOSPI closed at 2968.21, down 0.75% from the previous trading day. However, it rose to 3027.16 during the morning session, signaling the start of the 'KOSPI 3000' era this year. After the index fell to the 1400s due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) last year, the KOSPI doubled in value in about nine months and continued to set new all-time highs daily, supported by the participation of individual investors.

The KOSPI recovered to the 2000 level in May last year, and although the pace of increase slowed after August, it continuously set new record highs after foreigners returned in November, eventually breaking through the 3000 mark during intraday trading on the 6th and rising relentlessly.

However, once the index reached the 3000 level, a flood of profit-taking orders emerged, causing the KOSPI to close lower that day.

Looking at the supply and demand, foreigners sold a net 669 billion KRW worth of shares in the KOSPI market, and institutions sold 1.3755 trillion KRW worth. However, individual investors once again supported the downside of the index.

Individuals bought 2.0243 trillion KRW worth of shares in the KOSPI market alone that day, absorbing the shares sold by foreigners and institutions.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics (-2.03%), LG Chem (-0.34%), Samsung Biologics (-0.28%), and NAVER (-0.85%) declined, while SK Hynix (0.38%) and Kakao (0.64%) rose.

The stock most purchased by individuals that day was Samsung Electronics (1.0113 trillion KRW), followed by Samsung Electronics preferred shares, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor, KODEX Leverage, Doosan Fuel Cell, Samsung SDI, and Celltrion.

The KOSDAQ index also closed down 0.44% at 981.39 compared to the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ index rose to the 990 level at one point in the morning but lost momentum and widened its decline thereafter.

Individuals also showed a solo buying trend in the KOSDAQ market. While foreigners and institutions sold 112.8 billion KRW and 240.6 billion KRW respectively, individuals bought 387.9 billion KRW worth of shares.

The stocks most purchased by individuals were TES, Webzen, Celltrion Healthcare, and Alteogen.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (-1.31%), Celltrion Pharm (-1.92%), and HL Biopharma (-8.14%) declined, while Seegene (0.87%) and Pearl Abyss (0.12%) rose.

Lee Kyung-soo, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, said, "The contribution of individuals to the index rise is rapidly increasing," adding, "Attention is needed on stocks where individual supply and demand fell due to the major shareholder qualification avoidance issue but are seeing renewed inflows after the issue subsided."

He also analyzed, "A phase favorable to small and mid-cap stocks is gradually approaching," noting, "Recently, the earnings momentum of small and mid-cap stocks has been higher compared to large-cap stocks, and historically, when the earnings momentum of small and mid-cap stocks was relatively high, their performance was also strong."

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