'Four Witches Day' Volatility Despite, KOSPI Closes Up at '3010 Level'...Foreigners' Largest Purchase in 10 Years

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Ji-hwan] On the 11th, despite the extreme volatility of the 'Four Witching Day' (Quadruple Witching Day) in the KOSPI, the index closed higher due to the passage of additional US stimulus measures and stable interest rates. Just before the market closed, despite nearly 1 trillion KRW in sell orders from institutions, the index held the '3010 level' thanks to massive net buying by foreigners.

On that day, the KOSPI closed at 3,013.70, up 55.58 points (1.88%) from the previous trading day. The index started at 2,964.30, up 0.21% from the previous day, then expanded its gains, at one point showing a rise of over 2% during the session. It successfully recovered the 3,000 level for the first time in six days, ending a five-day losing streak.

By investor type, individuals and institutions sold 1.1085 trillion KRW and 589.9 billion KRW, respectively. Just before the market close, institutional investors dumped nearly 1 trillion KRW in sell orders at once, turning to net selling. On the other hand, foreigners alone net bought 1.7046 trillion KRW, driving the index's upward momentum. This is the largest scale in about 9 years and 8 months since July 8, 2011, when foreigners net bought 1.72 trillion KRW.

By sector, all sectors except textiles and apparel, electric and gas utilities, and insurance rose. Chemicals, non-metallic minerals, and machinery showed strong gains of over 3%.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all up to 17th place rose. Samsung SDI showed an increase of over 8%, while LG Chem (5.39%) and Kakao (4.13%) also showed strong performance. SK Hynix (3.01%) and Celltrion (2.63%) also rose.

The KOSDAQ closed at 908.01, up 17.94 points (2.02%) from the previous trading day.

KOSDAQ also saw notable net buying by foreigners. On that day, foreigners net bought 211.6 billion KRW. Meanwhile, individuals and institutions showed net selling of 165.8 billion KRW and 35.2 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, prices rose except for HL Biopharma and Seegene. EcoPro BM rose over 7%, Pearl Abyss over 4%, and Celltrion Healthcare over 3%.

Lee Jin-woo, head of investment strategy at Meritz Securities, said, "The strength of the domestic stock market today is primarily due to the passage of the US stimulus package and signs of interest rate stabilization." He added, "However, since the market is still in a volatile phase, concerns about rising interest rates and adjustments in growth stocks remain."

There is also analysis that the large-scale buying by foreign investors on that day may be temporary. Jeong In-ji, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, said, "Foreign investors showed buying in both mini futures and stocks, leading to a strong market." He added, "Whether the market currently considers the US bond yield at around 1.5% to be stable remains to be seen, and we need to watch the US market trends for a while."

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