KOSPI Falls Below 3300 in Morning... Foreigners and Institutions Increase Net Selling

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI fell below the 3300 level as net selling by foreigners and institutions increased.

At 10:13 a.m. on the 29th, the KOSPI stood at 3286.51, down 0.46% (15.38 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened the session at 3305.36, up 0.10% (3.37 points) from the previous day, but the decline has since widened.

Looking at investor trends, foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 179.7 billion KRW and 401.5 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals were the sole net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 588.9 billion KRW. Ahead of the U.S. employment data release, a wait-and-see stance expanded, and due to the Delta variant, a preference for safe assets increased, leading to a slight decline in the index.

By sector, the largest gains were seen in Medical Precision (1.29%), Pharmaceuticals (0.61%), Chemicals (0.33%), and Food & Beverages (0.29%). Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics fell 0.85% to 81,200 KRW compared to the previous day. Hyundai Motor also declined by 0.62%. On the other hand, SK Hynix (0.79%), LG Chem (0.12%), Samsung Biologics (0.47%), Samsung SDI (0.29%), and Celltrion (0.19%) rose.

Conversely, the KOSDAQ index continued its upward trend during the morning session. At the same time, the index stood at 1023.98, up 0.6% (6.07 points) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ opened at 1019.64, up 0.17% (1.73 points) from the previous day, and maintained its rise. Looking at investor trends, individuals alone bought stocks worth 58.7 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 30.9 billion KRW and 22.0 billion KRW, respectively.

By sector in the KOSDAQ market, Digital Contents (6.77%), IT Software & SVC (3.39%), and Textiles & Apparel (1.11%) led the gains. Among the strong performance of gaming stocks, Pearl Abyss surged 27.7% following news of the approval of the Chinese license for ‘Black Desert’.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (0.69%), Pearl Abyss (20.36%), EcoPro BM (0.73%), Kakao Games (2.36%), CJ ENM (0.06%), and SK Materials (2.35%) also rose.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, explained, “With the possibility of economic momentum slowing due to the Delta variant and increased caution over the delayed recovery of the U.S. labor market, the upcoming non-farm payroll data on the 2nd of next month may limit the upper range of the index.”

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