KOSPI Weakens to '3160 Level' Amid Foreign and Institutional Selling... Kakao and Naver Plunge Due to Regulatory Actions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] On the afternoon of the 8th, the KOSPI continued to show weakness around the '3160 level' amid selling pressure from foreigners and institutions. Naver and Kakao experienced sharp declines due to platform regulations imposed by financial authorities.

As of 2:05 PM that day, the KOSPI was at 3,162.41, down 25.01 points (0.78%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 3,178.74, down 8.68 points (0.27%).

By investor type, individuals were net buyers with 440.9 billion KRW. In contrast, foreigners and institutions were net sellers with 366.9 billion KRW and 65 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, performance was mixed. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose by 0.13% and 1.91%, respectively. On the other hand, Kakao's decline was the largest at -10.39%, and NAVER also plunged sharply by -7.87%. Samsung Biologics (-1.37%) and LG Chem (-0.79%) also fell.

The decline in Naver and Kakao appears to be influenced by the political and financial authorities' intensified platform regulations. The financial authorities held the 5th Financial Consumer Protection Act Implementation Status Inspection Team meeting the day before and shared the results of reviewing the application of laws to online platform services. The financial authorities decided to classify most business activities previously considered advertising by big tech and fintech companies as 'intermediation.' Accordingly, major IT and fintech financial platforms such as Naver Financial, Kakao Pay, and Toss will no longer be able to compare and recommend investment products like funds and pensions from other financial companies to users. Selling linked credit card or insurance products will also be considered illegal.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was at 1,039.70, down 14.73 points (-1.40%) from the previous day. The index opened at 1,053.46, down 0.97 points (0.09%).

Selling pressure from foreigners and institutions dragged the index down. Foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 192.5 billion KRW and 128.6 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals were net buyers with 338.5 billion KRW.

Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, EcoPro BM (0.21%), Pearl Abyss (0.83%), SK Materials (0.22%), and L&F (0.59%) rose. Meanwhile, Celltrion Healthcare (-2.56%), HLB (-3.84%), and Celltrion Pharm (-2.18%) declined.

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