KOSPI Falls 1.42% Retreating Below 3020... KOSDAQ Breaks 1000 Intraday

On the 1st, the KOSPI index opened lower due to the sluggish U.S. stock market. Dealers are working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. The won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,185.0 won, up 1.0 won from the previous session, showing a stable trend. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] The KOSPI plunged sharply, falling to the '3020 level' due to the decline in the U.S. stock market amid growing inflation concerns. The KOSDAQ also broke below the '1000 level' during the session, dropping to the 980 level.

As of 10:54 a.m. on the 1st, the KOSPI was at 3025.11, down 43.71 points (-1.42%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 3056.21, down 12.61 points (-0.41%) from the previous close. Although it briefly narrowed losses and rose to the '3060 level,' the decline has gradually widened.

By investor type, foreigners and institutions are net sellers of 81 billion KRW and 274.2 billion KRW, respectively. Only individuals are net buyers, purchasing 349 billion KRW.

The market weakness today appears largely influenced by the sharp decline in the U.S. stock market overnight. On the 30th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 546.80 points (1.59%) to 33,843.92 at the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 index dropped 1.19% to close at 4,307.54. The Nasdaq index declined 0.4% to 14,448.58. Notably, the poor performance of retailers amid growing concerns over global supply chain disruptions stood out. Household goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond's stock price plummeted 22.18% to close at $17.28.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, all are declining. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have slipped more than 1%. NAVER (-1.16%), Samsung Biologics (-0.23%), and Kakao (-0.42%) are also showing weakness.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ fell below the 1000 level. The KOSDAQ is down 16.17 points (1.61%) from the previous day, standing at 987.10. Foreigners and institutions are net sellers of 100.6 billion KRW and 33.4 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals are net buyers of 139.2 billion KRW.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (-4.39%), EcoPro BM (-2.38%), and Celltrion Pharm (-3.76%) showed declines. L&F (1.23%) and Pearl Abyss (6.34%) rose.

Lee Hyoseok, a researcher at SK Securities, explained, "The market is expected to remain difficult until mid-month as macro variables in the stock market have not yet calmed down. The U.S. inflation issue depends on natural gas prices, which have not shown any signs of easing so far."

A researcher at a securities firm said, "Market sentiment itself is very poor, so even though the selling volume from foreigners and institutions is not large, the index appears to be fluctuating significantly."

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