KOSPI Down About 0.6% at 2940 Level... "Stock Market Slump Can Be Solved Only When Foreigners Return"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] On the 10th, the KOSPI maintained a downward trend around the '2940 level' in the early session due to selling by foreigners and institutions. The KOSDAQ also fell below the 1000 level again during the session after two days.

At 10:42 a.m., the KOSPI was trading at 2,944.40, down 18.06 points (0.61%) from the previous trading day.

By investor type, foreigners and institutions sold a net 38.1 billion KRW and 74 billion KRW respectively, pulling the index down. On the other hand, individual investors were the only ones buying, with a net purchase of 100.6 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, there were mixed movements. NAVER (-0.60%) and Kakao (-0.40%) showed declines. In particular, Tesla's overnight plunge of over 12% caused related stocks such as LG Chem (-4.03%) and Samsung SDI (-1.60%) to fall. Conversely, Samsung Electronics (0.43%) and SK Hynix (0.46%) rose.

The KOSDAQ fell below the 1000 level during the session for the first time in two days since the 8th. At the same time, the KOSDAQ was trading at 993.84, down 14.84 points (-1.47%) from the previous day.

By investor type, individual investors were net buyers of 290.2 billion KRW. Meanwhile, foreigners and institutions sold net amounts of 177.1 billion KRW and 71.8 billion KRW respectively. Similar to the KOSPI, related stocks affected by Tesla's sharp decline showed notable decreases. EcoPro BM, the second largest company by market capitalization on the KOSDAQ that had risen for six consecutive trading days, fell 2.87% on this day. L&F also dropped 6.01%. On the other hand, Celltrion Healthcare (3.25%), Pearl Abyss (2.71%), and Celltrion Pharm (2.85%) rose.

Market experts pointed to the absence of returning foreign investors as the main cause of the recent sluggishness in the domestic stock market. Foreigners sold a net 3.8842 trillion KRW in the KOSPI last month. This month, they have also shown a net selling bias of 292.3 billion KRW up to the previous day. Analysts say that a full-fledged stock price rebound will be possible only when foreign demand returns.

Woong-chan Lee, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, stated, "Looking at the current KOSPI supply and demand, individuals and institutions do not have the capacity to lift the index," adding, "Foreign selling is leading the index." He noted that foreigners mainly watch macroeconomic conditions and exchange rates, and especially evaluated that the exchange rate is weak.

However, there is an analysis that the worst situation has passed. Researcher Woong-chan Lee said, "The KOSPI has received support several times around the 2900 level, and the exchange rate has also been supported at 1200, dropping to the 1160 level," adding, "Foreigners think the exchange rate is cheap when it approaches the 1200 level, so the domestic stock market currently has value merits at a low price."

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