Early Strong Institutional Buying... KOSPI Recovers to 3160 Level

KOSDAQ Also Turns to an Uptrend

The KOSPI index is displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room of the Myeongdong Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Despite the weak U.S. stock market, the domestic stock market rebounded, recovering the 3160 level. Institutional investors continued their buying spree in the early session, leading the index higher.

On the 18th, the KOSPI opened at 3,135.38, up 0.03% (0.86 points) from the previous day. The gains widened, reaching 3,160.55 as of 9:28 a.m.

Early in the session, institutional buying is driving the index higher. Institutional investors net purchased 214.7 billion KRW. In contrast, foreigners and individuals net sold 12.7 billion KRW and 208.1 billion KRW, respectively.

Almost all sectors showed gains. The steel and metal sector led with a 2.45% increase. This was followed by banks (2.27%), pharmaceuticals (2.17%), securities (1.68%), and construction (1.06%). Meanwhile, medical precision (-1.71%), paper and wood (-0.94%), and transportation and warehousing (-0.77%) declined.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, most rose. Samsung Biologics posted the largest gain at 3.78%. This was followed by Kakao (2.26%), SK Hynix (1.70%), LG Chem (1.63%), Hyundai Motor (1.32%), Kia (0.86%), NAVER (0.73%), Samsung Electronics (0.25%), and Samsung SDI (0.16%). Celltrion fell by 0.37%.

The KOSDAQ opened at 962.83, up 0.03% (0.33 points) from the previous day. It briefly dipped but then started to rebound again, reaching 963.48 as of 9:28 a.m.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions net purchased 2.8 billion KRW and 1.9 billion KRW, respectively. Only individuals net sold 1.6 billion KRW.

Many sectors advanced, including computer services (1.25%), internet (1.03%), non-metallic minerals (1.02%), and digital content (1.01%). Transportation (-1.34%), publishing and media replication (-0.96%), and construction (-0.76%) declined.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, Pearl Abyss posted the largest gain at 2.69%. This was followed by SK Materials (1.96%), CJ ENM (1.33%), Alteogen (0.41%), and Kakao Games (0.20%). Celltrion Healthcare (-1.40%), Studio Dragon (-0.53%), Celltrion Pharm (-0.53%), EcoPro BM (-0.18%), and HLB (-0.16%) declined.

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