KOSPI Battles Around 3000 Level in Morning Session

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[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] As individual investors continue their net buying spree alone, the KOSPI is battling around the 3000 mark throughout the morning session.

At 10:47 AM, the KOSPI stood at 2999.12, up 0.09% (2.77 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2995.67, down 0.02% (0.68 points) from the previous day, and rose to as high as 3008.51 during the session. Looking at investor trends, individual investors bought stocks worth 196.9 billion KRW alone, while institutions and foreigners bought stocks worth 101.7 billion KRW and 85.7 billion KRW, respectively.

Among sector indices, Paper & Wood rose 3.58%, driven by Clean Korea (25%), a Yoon Seok-yeol theme stock, which helped lift the index. Other sectors with notable gains included Energy & Chemicals (1.78%), Banks (1.61%), and Electric & Gas Utilities (1.4%).

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics (0.37%), LG Chem (0.26%), Samsung C&T (1.69%), and KB Financial Group (2.35%) rose. Conversely, SK Hynix (-0.75%), Samsung Biologics (-0.14%), and Samsung SDI (-0.63%) declined.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was down 0.53% (5.02 points) from the previous day at 948.80. The KOSDAQ opened at 953.26, down 0.06% (0.56 points) from the previous day. Investor trends showed individual investors bought stocks worth 134.9 billion KRW, while institutions and foreigners sold stocks worth 40.2 billion KRW and 96 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks on KOSDAQ, Celltrion Healthcare (-0.23%), Celltrion Pharm (-0.74%), Pearl Abyss (-4.57%), Seegene (-1.41%), and SK Materials (-1.91%) declined.

COVID-19 Third Wave... Eurozone Economy Trapped in a Slump

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As signs of the third wave of COVID-19 emerge, European countries are signaling strong responses, impacting global stock markets. Securities firms expect that the European region must accelerate vaccination efforts in April and May to achieve herd immunity and enter a recovery phase.

Countries successfully controlling the spread of COVID-19 show strong expansion in their service PMI indices, but the Eurozone is not in the same situation. While manufacturing is experiencing a strong expansion cycle, the service sector remains in contraction. The PMI index is a business trend indicator based on surveys of purchasing managers regarding new orders, production, inventory, and employment. A value above 50 indicates expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction.

Germany and France recorded manufacturing PMI indices of 60.5 and 58.8, respectively, showing strong growth, but their service PMI indices were 50.8 and 47.8. The overall Eurozone service PMI stood at 48.8, marking seven consecutive months of contraction. Recently, high-intensity restrictions are expected to be implemented to curb the third wave of COVID-19, likely delaying improvements in the service sector.

Park Sang-hyun, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, explained, “Unlike Australia, the UK, and the US, where COVID-19 is under control, the delayed improvement in the service sector in major Eurozone countries is holding back the Eurozone’s economic rebound. If vaccinations proceed smoothly in Europe, including the Eurozone, in April and May, a strong economic recovery phase can be expected based on COVID-19 control.”

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