KOSPI Rises on Institutional Buying... KOSDAQ Falls Below 1000 Intraday

Significant Volatility Observed as KOSDAQ Turns Upward Again

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The KOSPI, which started off lower, is showing an early session rise thanks to institutional investors. The KOSDAQ briefly fell below the 1000 mark for the first time in about two months but turned positive during the session.

On the 18th, the KOSPI opened at 3141.98, down 0.04% (1.11 points) from the previous trading day. However, it turned positive from 9:33 a.m.

Institutional buying is strong. Institutions net purchased 232.2 billion KRW. Individuals bought 1.6 billion KRW worth. On the other hand, foreigners net sold 228.6 billion KRW.

Most sectors rose. Banks had the largest gain at 4.73%, followed by textiles and apparel (3.06%), telecommunications (1.94%), transportation and warehousing (1.53%), and finance (1.21%). Insurance (-0.96%), pharmaceuticals (-0.72%), electrical and electronics (-0.14%), and steel and metals (-0.18%) declined.

Many of the top 10 market cap stocks showed weakness. Samsung Biologics fell the most at 1.88%, followed by Samsung Electronics (-0.94%), Hyundai Motor (-0.94%), Celltrion (-0.73%), and NAVER (-0.47%). KakaoBank (6.86%), Kakao (0.70%), SK Hynix (0.49%), and Samsung SDI (0.25%) rose. LG Chem remained flat.

The KOSDAQ opened at 1006.80, down 0.42% (4.25 points) from the previous day. It dropped to 999.26 at 9:25 a.m., falling below the 1000 mark during the session for the first time since June 17, about two months ago. However, it turned positive from 9:41 a.m. and rose to 1015.51.

Foreign buying led the index's rise. Foreigners net purchased 76.1 billion KRW. Individuals and institutions net sold 67.9 billion KRW and 7.4 billion KRW, respectively.

Almost all sectors rose. Paper and wood led with a 2.21% gain, followed by transportation equipment and parts (1.73%), digital content (1.73%), publishing and media replication (1.54%), and non-metallic minerals (1.46%). Other manufacturing (-1.91%), transportation (-1.24%), chemicals (-0.85%), internet (-0.84%), and medical and precision instruments (-0.36%) declined.

Many of the top 10 market cap stocks showed strength. HL Biotech led with a 4.81% rise, followed by Pearl Abyss (2.43%), Kakao Games (2.33%), EcoPro BM (2.17%), L&F (1.79%), and Alteogen (1.03%). Celltrion Pharm (-2.06%), Seegene (-1.93%), Celltrion Healthcare (-1.10%), and SK Materials (-0.12%) declined.

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