KOSPI and KOSDAQ Start Up but Quickly Turn Down... Foreigners and Institutions Sell Off

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] On the 3rd, the domestic stock market started higher but quickly turned downward due to net selling by foreigners and institutions, showing a hesitant trend.

The KOSPI index opened at 3020.36, up 6.87 points (0.23%), and the KOSDAQ index opened at 1011.20, up 1.76 points (0.17%). As of 9:10 AM, the KOSPI is down 0.37% from the previous trading day at 3002.48, and the KOSDAQ is down 0.09% at 1008.64.

The net selling by foreigners and institutions is interpreted as the cause of the index's downward turn. Foreigners are selling 181.6 billion KRW in the KOSPI market, and institutions are selling 24 billion KRW and 34.3 billion KRW in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets, respectively. Foreigners have switched to net buying only in the KOSDAQ market, purchasing about 1.2 billion KRW. Institutions are showing net buying dominance of 206.3 billion KRW and 20.9 billion KRW in both markets, respectively.

Domestic indices are expected to remain cautious today. Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "With the U.S. stock market waiting for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, clear direction is limited, and fluctuations depend on changes in individual stock groups, so the Korean stock market is also expected to show limited changes." He added, "In particular, although the stock market was solid, the decline in government bond yields and international oil prices, along with the strength of the dollar and yen, has increased the preference for safe assets, which will burden foreign demand." He continued, "The Korean stock market is expected to start flat, and the possibility of cautious selling ahead of the FOMC cannot be ruled out, so overall, it will be a day with a strong cautious stance."

Meanwhile, the New York stock market closed at record highs ahead of the FOMC regular meeting announcement. On the 2nd (Eastern Time), at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 36,052.63, up 138.79 points (0.39%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 4,630.65, up 16.98 points (0.37%), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 15,649.60, up 53.69 points (0.34%).

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