KOSPI Rises to '3120 Level'... "Institutional Selling Pressure Somewhat Eases"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] On the 22nd, the KOSPI continued its upward trend, rising above the 3120 level. Analysts attribute this positive market movement to a slight easing of institutional selling pressure, which had persisted for six consecutive trading days until the previous session.

As of 10:58 a.m., the KOSPI stood at 3121.42, up 13.80 points (0.44%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 3114.03, up 6.41 points (0.21%) from the previous close, and at one point climbed to the 3140 level.

By investor type, institutions and foreigners continued net buying, driving the index higher. Notably, institutions net purchased 79.4 billion KRW on this day. Until the previous session, institutions had been net sellers for six consecutive trading days, offloading a total of 4.029 trillion KRW during that period. Foreigners are also net buyers with 20.7 billion KRW. Conversely, individuals are net sellers with 109.7 billion KRW.

Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics (1.21%) and SK Hynix (3.76%) led the gains. Meanwhile, NAVER (-0.50%) and Celltrion (-0.31%) experienced declines.

The KOSDAQ index rose slightly by 0.04 points to 965.15 compared to the previous trading day. Individuals purchased 155.4 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 87.8 billion KRW and 56.4 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market cap stocks on KOSDAQ, Celltrion Pharm (0.12%) and Alteogen (1.46%) saw gains. In contrast, Seegene (-4.42%), Pearl Abyss (-1.00%), and Kakao Games (-1.09%) were weak.

Cho Byunghyun, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, said, "From a supply-demand perspective, foreign selling pressure in the KOSPI has somewhat eased. As large-cap stocks rise, mid-cap stocks are also stabilizing."

The domestic stock market is expected to continue experiencing volatility for the time being. Researcher Cho added, "There are many mixed factors, such as whether market concerns over U.S. interest rate hikes will have a greater impact or whether economic recovery expectations driven by vaccine effects will take precedence. The domestic market is likely to continue fluctuating between gains and losses."

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