Foreigners and Institutions Lift KOSDAQ, Not KOSPI, "New Record High"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] On the 5th, the domestic stock market, which started higher, closed with mixed results between the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices. While the KOSPI turned downward and closed slightly lower, the KOSDAQ ended the session up about 1%. The rise was driven by concentrated buying from foreigners and institutions.

On that day, the KOSPI index opened at 3,283.25, up 2.87 points (0.09%). After turning downward during the session, it maintained slight fluctuations and closed down 0.13% at 3,276.13. The KOSDAQ index started at 1,050.45, up 2.52 points (0.24%). It maintained a steady upward trend and closed up 1.11% at 1,059.54. This marked a new closing high for the first time in 9 trading days. The previous high was 1,055.50, recorded on the 23rd of last month.

On that day, only individual investors showed net selling. Individuals sold about 259.8 billion KRW and 244.6 billion KRW net in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets, respectively. In contrast, foreigners and institutions showed net buying. Foreigners purchased about 72 billion KRW and 239.7 billion KRW in the two markets, respectively. Institutions also recorded net purchases of about 189.5 billion KRW and 12.1 billion KRW in the two markets.

By sector in the KOSPI, most sectors closed lower, including transportation equipment (-0.95%), steel and metals (-0.52%), and electrical and electronics (-0.48%). Only a few sectors showed strength, such as non-metallic minerals (+1.62%), medical precision instruments (+1.43%), and textiles and apparel (+1.34%).

In the KOSDAQ sectors, paper and wood (+3.76%), internet (+2.95%), and IT components (+2.56%) showed strength, while entertainment and culture (-0.16%) and broadcasting services (-0.01%) closed lower.

Among the top 10 KOSPI stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics (-0.97%), Hyundai Motor (-0.89%), SK Hynix (-0.83%), Kakao (-0.33%), and Celltrion (-0.19%) declined. Samsung SDI (+3.49%), NAVER (+2.19%), Samsung Biologics (+1.00%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (+0.27%), and LG Chem (+0.12%) rose.

Among the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, Alteogen (-1.09%), Celltrion Pharm (-0.68%), Celltrion Healthcare (-0.60%), SK Materials (-0.44%), and CJ ENM (-0.24%) declined. EcoPro BM (+2.83%), Pearl Abyss (+2.12%), Kakao Games (+0.96%), and HLB (+0.27%) rose.

Seosangyoung, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Recently, foreigners have actively bought individual semiconductor stocks in the Korean stock market, driving the index higher. However, it is important to note that the semiconductor sector's strength is a phenomenon that appeared after individual corporate factors and the possibility of Nvidia's failure to acquire ARM became prominent." He added, "Even if the acquisition fails, cooperation to overcome this has been highlighted. Considering this, the foreign buying momentum in the semiconductor sector is unlikely to expand significantly."

Meanwhile, the won/dollar exchange rate closed slightly higher on the day. In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won/dollar rate closed at 1,143.7 won per dollar, up 0.1 won from the previous day's closing price. The exchange rate started higher due to the dollar's strength but fell around midday, dropping to as low as 1,141.3 won. However, as the market close approached, the decline narrowed, and it eventually reversed to rise, ending in a slightly firm range.

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