KOSPI Falters Due to Institutional Selling... Nearly 1% Drop in Early Trading

KOSDAQ Also Slightly Weak... Strong Institutional Selling in Both Markets

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[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI, which started slightly lower due to institutional selling, is widening its decline.

On the 17th, the KOSPI opened at 3,162.95, down 0.01% (0.30 points) from the previous day. It then deepened its losses, falling to 3,136.85, down 0.85% as of 9:18 AM compared to the previous day.

Institutional selling appears to have influenced the early session weakness. Foreigners and individuals were net buyers of 6.1 billion KRW and 312.8 billion KRW respectively, while institutions were net sellers of 315.7 billion KRW.

Most sectors are in decline. The order was machinery (-1.50%), electrical and electronics (-1.36%), transportation equipment (-1.18%), pharmaceuticals (-1.07%), and manufacturing (-0.98%). On the other hand, paper and wood (5.16%) and steel and metals (1.78%) rose.

Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, all were down except Samsung SDI (0.5%). SK Hynix (-2.2%) had the largest drop, followed by Celltrion (-1.6%), Samsung Electronics (-1.4%), Hyundai Motor (-1.4%), Kakao (-1.3%), Kia Motors (-1.2%), NAVER (-1.1%), Samsung Biologics (-1.1%), and LG Chem (-0.6%).

The KOSDAQ opened slightly higher at 977.93, up 0.02% (0.19 points) from the previous day. However, it soon turned downward, widening its losses to 973.71 as of 9:18 AM.

Net selling by foreigners and institutions led the index decline. Foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 225.2 billion KRW and 26.8 billion KRW respectively, while individuals were net buyers of 60 billion KRW.

Many sectors declined, including digital content (-1.34%), semiconductors (-0.76%), and other manufacturing (-0.52%). Conversely, information devices (3.57%), broadcasting services (1.70%), and internet (1.41%) sectors rose.

Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, Pearl Abyss had the largest drop at -4.3%, followed by Celltrion Healthcare (-1.7%), Celltrion Pharm (-1.6%), EcoPro BM (-1.3%), Kakao Games (-1.2%), and Alteogen (-0.9%). HL Biotech (1.8%), CJ ENM (1.7%), Seegene (1.05%), and SK Materials (0.5%) rose.

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