Holiday Passed Korean Stock Market... Both KOSPI and KOSDAQ Start Slightly Lower

Early Session: Nearly 1% Decline

On the 23rd, employees are working at the Myeongdong Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ opened slightly lower and have been widening their losses.

On the 23rd, the KOSPI opened at 3,123.64, down 0.54% (16.87 points) from the previous trading day. The decline deepened somewhat, reaching 3,110.46, nearly 1% lower than the previous day, as of 9:34 AM.

Foreigners and individuals net bought stocks worth 143.3 billion KRW and 6.8 billion KRW respectively, while institutions net sold stocks worth 134.6 billion KRW.

Most sectors are in decline. The steel and metal sector saw the largest drop at -2.68%. This was followed by construction (-2.31%), textiles and apparel (-2.10%), banking (-2.00%), and non-metallic minerals (-1.91%). Only the electric and gas utilities (9.47%), medical precision (22.97%), and telecommunications (2.63%) sectors rose.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, most are also falling. Kakao experienced the largest drop at -4.18%, followed by NAVER (-1.24%), Hyundai Motor (-1.20%), Samsung Biologics (-1.07%), Kia (-0.48%), SK Hynix (-0.47%), and Samsung Electronics (-0.13%). Only Celltrion (3.45%), LG Chem (2.43%), and Samsung SDI (0.28%) rose.

The KOSDAQ also started lower at 1,040.38, down 0.55% (5.74 points) from the previous trading day. As of 9:34 AM, it had fallen to 1,036.39.

In the KOSDAQ market, only individuals net bought stocks worth 16.4 billion KRW. Foreigners and institutions net sold stocks worth 4 billion KRW and 8.9 billion KRW respectively.

Almost all sectors are also declining. Construction (-2.28%), other manufacturing (-2.07%), internet (-2.05%), metals (-1.80%), and software (-1.76%) were among the biggest decliners. Only distribution (1.07%) and entertainment and culture (0.14%) sectors rose.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks are also down. Pearl Abyss had the largest drop at -2.79%, followed by Kakao Games (-2.63%), Alteogen (-2.25%), SK Materials (-1.81%), HLB (-0.76%), and L&F (-0.20%). Celltrion Pharm (4.88%), Celltrion Healthcare (2.38%), EcoPro BM (0.39%), and Seegene (0.32%) rose.

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