Risk Appetite Shrinks... KOSPI and KOSDAQ Plunge 1.6% and 3%

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices are showing a sharp decline, reflecting extremely subdued investor sentiment toward risky assets.

As of 1:36 PM on the 6th, the KOSPI stood at 2,916.48, down 1.54% (45.69 points). The index opened at 2,986.06, up 0.81% (23.89 points) from the previous trading day, and showed an increase close to 1% in the early session, but the decline widened in the afternoon. Looking at investor trends, individual investors bought stocks worth 209.9 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 168 billion KRW and 52.5 billion KRW, respectively.

Earlier in the day, the KOSPI showed a technical rebound on expectations of easing political uncertainty in the U.S., but it turned downward during the morning session, reflecting negative investor sentiment toward risky assets. Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “With the economic momentum weakening and expectations for corporate profit improvement deteriorating, issues such as friction between the U.S. and China and New Zealand’s interest rate hike news were reflected negatively in the market during the morning. The confusion caused by power outages in China and the sharp rise in commodity prices such as international oil also acted as cost burden issues. Meanwhile, the won-dollar exchange rate exceeded 1,190 KRW, increasing foreign futures selling volume and expanding supply-demand burdens.”

Among the top market capitalization stocks, NAVER (1.21%), Kakao (2.25%), and Hyundai Motor (0.26%) rose, while Samsung Electronics (-0.97%), SK Hynix (-1.84%), Samsung Biologics (-3.33%), and Samsung SDI (-1.32%) declined.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index stood at 926.71, down 3% (28.66 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 962.62, up 0.76% (7.25 points) from the previous day, and showed an increase of more than 1% during the session, but it has now turned downward, showing a decline of around 3%. Looking at investor trends, individual and institutional investors bought stocks worth 35.4 billion KRW and 57.8 billion KRW, respectively, while foreigners alone sold stocks worth 90.2 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (-3.43%), EcoPro BM (-4.42%), L&F (-6.5%), Pearl Abyss (-2.33%), and HLB (-4.38%) declined, while CJ ENM (4.04%) and Wemade (0.52%) rose.

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