Institutions Solely Net Selling... KOSPI Turns Down in Early Trading

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI is showing weakness in the early session. It started higher following gains in the U.S. stock market but turned lower as institutional net selling increased.

At 9:08 a.m. on the 17th, the KOSPI stood at 2,994.31, down 0.08% (2.90 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 3,004.02, up 0.23% (6.81 points) from the previous day. Looking at investment trends, foreigners and individuals each net bought stocks worth 29.2 billion KRW and 84.9 billion KRW respectively, while institutions alone net sold stocks worth 112.4 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics traded up 0.14% at 71,400 KRW. SK Hynix (0.89%), Kakao (0.39%), LG Chem (0.39%), and Samsung SDI (1.32%) also rose. NAVER (-0.25%), Samsung Biologics (-1.03%), Hyundai Motor (-0.48%), and Kia (-0.71%) declined.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was at 1,037.51, up 0.20% (2.05 points) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ opened at 1,039.36, up 0.38% (3.90 points). In terms of investment trends, individuals alone bought stocks worth 123.4 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions bought stocks worth 89.5 billion KRW and 27.0 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Pearl Abyss (2.89%), Kakao Games (4.23%), L&F (2.42%), HL Biopharma (0.49%), and SK Materials (2.49%) rose. Meanwhile, Celltrion Healthcare (-0.88%), EcoPro BM (-0.07%), Wemade (-1.5%), and Celltrion Pharm (-1.25%) declined.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “Attention is focused on the improvement in U.S. consumer spending and better-than-expected trade negotiation results, which will support an upward trend. It is also noteworthy that foreign demand is becoming more favorable to the stock market, increasing the investment appeal of large-cap stocks.”

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