KOSPI Fluctuates Around 3150 Level... "Volatile Market Continues"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] On the 20th morning, the KOSPI is showing weakness, fluctuating around the 3150 level. Domestic market experts analyze that in the current situation where there is no clear upward momentum, the volatility market will continue, where stock prices fluctuate significantly due to some issues that could have a downward impact.

As of 10:34 a.m. today, the KOSPI is at 3150.09, down 22.96 points (0.72%) from the previous trading day. The index started at 3174.53, up 1.48 points (0.05%) from the previous session, but soon turned downward. It fell to the 3140 level at one point during the session but is showing signs of recovering the losses.

On the KOSPI, individual investors are defending the index by net buying alone. Individuals net bought 567.6 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions net sold 280.9 billion KRW and 283.4 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, performance was mixed. LG Chem (1.25%), SK Hynix (0.83%), NAVER (0.86%), and Kakao (0.88%) rose. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics (-0.38%), Samsung Biologics (-1.79%), and Hyundai Motor (-2.38%) declined.

The KOSDAQ is down 3.83 points (0.40%) from the previous day, standing at 965.27. The index started the session at 968.35, down 0.75 points (0.08%) from the previous close (969.10), and has been fluctuating between rises and falls.

On the KOSDAQ, individuals and foreigners net bought 43.2 billion KRW and 14.5 billion KRW, respectively. Only institutions net sold 47.7 billion KRW. Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, all except EcoPro BM (2.42%) and SK Materials (2.47%) are in decline. Celltrion Healthcare (-0.26%), Celltrion Pharm (-0.60%), Seegene (-4.37%), and Pearl Abyss (-2.54%) fell.

The decline in the domestic stock market today appears to be influenced by the overnight New York market closing lower due to risk asset sentiment shrinking following a sharp drop in cryptocurrency prices. Additionally, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes hinted at the possibility of starting tapering (asset purchase reduction) discussions, which also acted as downward pressure on stock prices.

Lee Jinwoo, head of investment strategy at Meritz Securities, said, "With the momentum for the stock market rise largely exhausted, downward pressure factors such as the sharp drop in cryptocurrency prices due to Chinese government regulations and concerns over Fed tapering are negatively affecting the market," adding, "It seems that for the time being, the market will continue to show significant volatility in the index despite some negative factors."

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