Ants Are Back.. KOSPI Closes Slightly Higher

KOSPI Closes Up 0.52%
Samsung Electronics and NAVER Show Notable Gains
KOSDAQ Ends Slightly Lower

On the 15th, the KOSPI opened at 3,108.70, up 8.12 points (0.26%) from the previous trading day, as employees were working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. The KOSDAQ opened at 965.83, up 1.52 points (0.16%) from the previous trading day. The won-dollar exchange rate started at 1,105.0 won, down 2.0 won from the previous trading day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] On the 16th, the KOSPI closed higher, powered by the strength of individual investors returning after a day. Foreign investors also joined the net buying but reduced the amount of funds投入 compared to before. During the session, Naver reached a new high of 400,000 KRW per share, and Samsung Electronics rose to 86,000 KRW. However, the gains gradually narrowed in the afternoon. The securities industry analyzed that overall, there was no clear movement that day, but differentiated movements were observed by sector and individual stocks.

Individual Investors Returning After a Day

On that day, individual and foreign investors showed net buying intentions of 437.2 billion KRW and 207.8 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals, who had net sold 352.6 billion KRW the previous day, demonstrated their strength again. However, due to the reduced net buying intention of foreign investors compared to the previous two trading days, the KOSPI closed with a slight gain. Over the past two trading days, foreign investors showed net buying intentions in the 700 billion KRW range.

Foreign investors showed net buying intentions for the third consecutive trading day. Major stocks with foreign net buying included Daeyoung Packaging, Daehan Electric Wire, Samsung Electronics, and Pan Ocean, while institutions favored KODEX Leverage, HMM, SK Hynix, KT, and Mirae Asset Daewoo.

Among all KOSPI sectors, Paper & Wood recorded a 4.83% rise to close the session. Telecommunications, Non-metallic Minerals, and Food & Beverage sectors rose by 2%, while Services and Steel & Metals sectors increased by 1%. Textiles & Apparel and Pharmaceuticals declined by around 1%.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Naver (0.00%) showed a notable upward trend. Naver surged to 400,000 KRW per share in the morning following news that Coupang would be listed on the US NASDAQ but soon gave up the gains.

Samsung Electronics reached an intraday high of 86,000 KRW but closed at 84,900 KRW. Last week, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) closed at 3,219.87 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the semiconductor stock rally spilled over to the domestic market, leading to a positive start, but the momentum weakened during the day.

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, analyzed, "With the US and Chinese markets closed, the KOSPI fluctuated around the 3,150 level amid profit-taking after the previous day's rally. Recent positive factors such as COVID-19 vaccination progress and the UK's announcement of an exit strategy from nationwide lockdowns positively influenced investor sentiment."

Bio Stocks Hit

The KOSDAQ closed down 4.22 points (0.43%) at 977.75. The KOSDAQ rose to 987 early in the session but could not withstand the simultaneous net selling by foreign and institutional investors. Individuals showed net buying intentions of 184.8 billion KRW, but foreign and institutional investors net sold 109.2 billion KRW and 60.8 billion KRW, respectively, leading to the overall index decline.

By sector, Telecommunications Services (6.81%), Non-metallic Minerals (2.8%), Broadcasting & Telecommunications (2.30%), and Software (2.22%) showed notable gains. In contrast, Transportation Parts stocks fell 10.93%, and Pharmaceuticals declined 1.94%. Among the top market cap companies in KOSDAQ, Pearl Abyss rose 5.61%, and EcoPro BM showed a slight increase of 0.1%.

The USD/KRW exchange rate fell to 1,097 KRW amid global COVID-19 vaccination expansion and expectations for economic normalization. However, during the session, offshore yuan weakness narrowed the decline, and the USD/KRW rate rose to 1,100.10 (+0.12%).

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