Foreigners and Institutions "Buy"... KOSPI Closes Higher for Second Consecutive Day

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] On the 26th, the KOSPI index closed higher due to a 'buying spree' by foreigners and institutions fueled by a global stock market upswing. The KOSDAQ index also showed a shaky pattern with fluctuations during the session but succeeded in rebounding.

On the 23rd, as the KOSPI index started higher buoyed by the positive momentum in the U.S. stock market, dealers were working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The KOSPI index closed at 3,041.00, up 32.67 points (1.09%) from the previous day. Although the index's rise was limited in the early session due to selling pressure from individual investors, institutions joined the foreigners' buying spree in the afternoon, pushing the index higher.

On the day, individual investors sold a net 418.1 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions bought 296.3 billion KRW and 123.5 billion KRW worth of stocks, respectively. Lee Jin-woo, head of investment strategy at Meritz Securities, said, "Recently, large-cap stocks have been sluggish due to various macro issues but rebounded, leading to the KOSPI's rise, while small- and mid-cap stocks showed a hesitant pattern as a counterbalance. Recently, individual investors have been buying stocks when the market dips and selling when it rises, shortening their trading periods."

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Kakao (2.06%) and Celltrion (2.11%) showed notable gains. SK Hynix (1.50%), LG Chem (1.78%), and Samsung SDI (1.89%) also showed strength. Samsung Electronics (0.37%) and NAVER (0.79%) remained firm, while Hyundai Motor (-1.15%) and Kia Motors (-0.86%) declined.

The KOSDAQ index closed at 956.71, up 1.72 points (0.18%) from the previous day. Individuals were net buyers of about 139.5 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 90.3 billion KRW and 42.9 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market cap stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (1.87%), Celltrion Pharm (0.66%), and Pearl Abyss (2.73%) all rose together, while the rest declined. Due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe, Seegene (-1.28%) showed early session strength but closed lower, and Studio Dragon (-1.48%) also showed weakness.

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, explained, "With the U.S. stock market reversing to an upward trend, the domestic market is also performing well. Although the early session's upward momentum was weak, the Chinese stock market also reversed to an upward trend, broadly increasing the overall gains."

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