KOSPI Closes Up 1% and KOSDAQ Up 2% on Foreign Buying Pressure

Bio Sector Strengthens... Celltrion Closes Up Over 9%

On the afternoon of the 15th, when the KOSPI recovered the 3,000-point level during the session, employees were working in the dealing room at the Myeongdong Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ closed up approximately 1% and 2%, respectively. The strong net buying by foreigners appears to have driven the indices higher.

On the 15th, the KOSPI closed at 2,999.52, up 1.03% (30.72 points) from the previous trading day. This is the highest closing level since 3,013.49 on the 2nd. After a firm start at 2,989.68, the index rose above the 3,000 mark at one point, maintaining an intraday upward trend.

The net buying by foreigners and institutions, which continued for two consecutive trading days, seems to have pushed the index up. On this day in the KOSPI market, foreigners and institutions net bought 397.4 billion KRW and 416.8 billion KRW worth of stocks, respectively. Individuals net sold 815 billion KRW.

Many sectors rose. Pharmaceuticals (4.27%), Medical Precision (3.30%), Securities (2.33%), and Electric & Electronics (1.62%) led the gains. Meanwhile, Electric & Gas (-1.91%) and Textile & Apparel (-1.16%) declined.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks also rose. Celltrion’s increase of 9.13% was the largest. It was followed by SK Hynix (4.23%), Samsung Biologics (3.72%), Kakao (1.57%), Samsung Electronics (1.13%), NAVER (0.49%), Hyundai Motor (0.48%), and Samsung SDI (0.40%). Only LG Chem (-1.16%) and Kia (-0.35%) fell.

The KOSDAQ rose even more steeply. It closed at 1,029.03, up 1.98% from the previous trading day. After opening slightly higher at 1,016.35, the index extended its gains, marking the highest closing level since September 27.

In the KOSDAQ market, net buying by individuals and foreigners was prominent. They purchased 88.5 billion KRW and 131.4 billion KRW worth of stocks, respectively. In contrast, institutions net sold 2,342.6 billion KRW.

Almost all sectors rose as well. The distribution sector posted the largest gain of 4.82%. Other sectors with gains above 3% included Pharmaceuticals (3.67%), Semiconductors (3.33%), and Entertainment & Culture (3.18%). Broadcasting Services (-0.76%) and Other Manufacturing (-0.45%) declined.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, all rose except CJ ENM (-1.60%). Celltrion Pharm surged by a remarkable 16.15%. It was followed by Celltrion Healthcare (8.42%), Pearl Abyss (2.92%), HL Biopharma (1.80%), L&F (1.04%), Wemade (0.79%), SK Materials (0.70%), Kakao Games (0.31%), and EcoPro BM (0.27%).

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