KOSPI Falls Over 1%... Closes at 3087.55

Dealers are working at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 4th, following the Financial Services Commission's announcement to resume short selling only for KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 index components starting May 3. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] On the 4th, the KOSPI closed down over 1%, giving up the 3100 mark. Individuals engaged in net buying amounting to 2.47 trillion KRW, but net selling by institutions and foreigners was larger. In the securities industry, the decline in the Chinese stock market and the US

KOSPI down over 1%

On the 2nd, when the KOSPI index surpassed the 3100 mark again during the session, dealers were working in the Hana Bank dealing room in Euljiro, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

On this day, the KOSPI closed at 3,087.55, down 42.13 points, a 1.35% decrease from the previous closing price. Individuals continued net buying worth 2.4705 trillion KRW. In contrast, institutions net sold 1.8347 trillion KRW, and foreigners net sold 649.1 billion KRW.

By sector, telecommunications (0.94%), paper and wood (0.77%), electric and gas (0.50%), and transportation equipment (0.40%) rose. The construction sector showed a decline of over 3%, while sectors such as electronics, services, insurance, machinery, and banking also fell by around 2%.

Among the top market capitalization companies, only LG Chem (0.10%), Hyundai Motor (1.22%), and Kia Motors (0.41%) maintained an upward trend. Samsung Electronics fell 2.48% to 82,500 KRW, and SK Hynix dropped 3.85% to 125,000 KRW. Naver (3.37%), Samsung Biologics (1.45%), Samsung SDI (1.45%), Celltrion (1.73%), and Kakao (1.62%) also closed lower.

Exchange Rate Rises

On the 2nd, dealers were busy working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. On this day, the KOSPI index started at 3,065.56, up 9.03 points (0.30%) from the previous trading day, showing an upward trend. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The KOSDAQ closed down 6.11 points at 964.58, a 0.63% decrease from the previous close. Individuals engaged in net buying of 217.7 billion KRW, but foreigners net sold 119.8 billion KRW, and institutions net sold 87.1 billion KRW.

By sector, software (0.52%), IT components (0.40%), and transportation parts (0.02%) closed higher. In contrast, paper and wood (1.90%), construction (1.89%), and telecommunication services (1.69%) declined. Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (0.34%), Celltrion Pharm (0.39%), and Pearl Abyss (4.48%) rose.

The KRW/USD exchange rate closed at 1,118.50, up 0.32% (3.6 KRW), influenced by the strong dollar and expanded net selling by foreigners in the stock market.

External Factors Impact Korean Stock Market

Dealers are working at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 4th, following the Financial Services Commission's announcement to resume short selling only for KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 index components starting May 3. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Researcher Kyungmin Lee of Daishin Securities analyzed that foreigners focused net selling on large semiconductor stocks due to the poor performance of US semiconductor stocks such as Micron (-3.08%) and Qualcomm (after-hours -6.72%), as well as the 2.12% decline in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

The weakness of the Chinese stock market also had an impact. Researcher Sangyoung Seo of Kiwoom Securities explained, "The Chinese stock market declined without clear upward momentum on this day," adding, "It is analyzed that this contributed to the decline in Korean stock market and US-Korea after-hours futures." On this day, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.02%, and the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 1.44%.

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