KOSPI Rises Over 1% on Strong Exports... KOSDAQ Also Rebounds

November Exports Reach Record $60 Billion
Semiconductor DRAM Price Bottoming Expectations Also Contribute
KOSDAQ Reverses to Rise After 1% Decline

On the morning of the 1st, with the KOSPI starting on an upward trend, employees are working in the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI, which started slightly higher, is recovering from the sluggish mood of the previous day, rebounding more than 1%. This appears to be driven by record-high export performance and the halt in the decline of semiconductor DRAM prices, raising expectations for improved KOSPI earnings going forward. The KOSDAQ, which had fallen due to profit-taking mainly in growth stocks sensitive to interest rates, also turned to an upward trend.

As of 11:13 a.m. on the 1st, the KOSPI recorded 2,876.74, up 1.33% from the previous day. After starting slightly higher at 2,860.12, it is expanding its gains.

It seems that simultaneous buying by foreigners and institutions lifted the index. They net purchased 423.5 billion KRW and 118.1 billion KRW respectively. On the other hand, individuals net sold 526.2 billion KRW.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks showed an upward trend. Kia had the largest gain at 2.70%, followed by Samsung Electronics (2.52%), LG Chem (2.45%), Hyundai Motor (1.79%), NAVER (1.44%), Samsung Biologics (0.67%), and Samsung SDI (0.58%). Only KakaoBank (-1.07%) declined.

The KOSDAQ market showed a somewhat different trend. After starting slightly higher at 969.90, it fell more than 1% at one point. Around 9:19 a.m., it dropped to 949.86. The KOSDAQ falling to the 940 level is the first time since October 13. Afterwards, as of 11:13 a.m., it recovered to 965.89, up 0.03% from the previous day.

Contrary to the KOSPI market, foreigners and institutions sold 72.3 billion KRW and 38.2 billion KRW respectively. Only individuals net purchased 123.1 billion KRW.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks also declined. The drop was particularly notable in EcoPro BM and Wemade, which recently rose sharply to the top market cap ranks. Both stocks fell by -6.16% and -5.63% respectively. Following were L&F (-5.75%), Seegene (-4.76%), Pearl Abyss (-3.49%), and Kakao Games (-1.01%). Celltrion Healthcare (1.48%), HLB (1.11%), and Celltrion Pharm (0.75%) rose. SK Materials remained flat.

Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), stated at a congressional hearing that tapering (asset purchase reduction) would be accelerated, which is interpreted as impacting growth stocks sensitive to interest rates such as secondary batteries and gaming. On the other hand, with solid export performance, there is an analysis that investment sentiment focused on large-cap KOSPI stocks due to expectations that KOSPI earnings estimates could be revised upward.

In fact, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that November exports amounted to 60.44 billion USD, up 32.1% from the same period last year. This is the first time monthly exports have surpassed 60 billion USD. The previous record high export amount set in September was broken after two months. The largest-ever annual export and trade volume is expected this year. According to market research firm DRAMeXchange, the average fixed transaction price of PC DRAM general products (DDR4 8Gb) last month was 3.71 USD, the same level as the previous month. It is analyzed that the price, which rose to 4.10 USD in Q3 this year, has somewhat bottomed out.

Park Kwangnam, head of the Digital Research Team at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "Concerns about the spread of the new COVID-19 variant 'Omicron' were somewhat pre-reflected until the previous day. Rather, from a fundamental perspective, November exports surpassed 60 billion USD (about 71 trillion KRW) for the first time, and memory semiconductor DRAM prices confirmed a bottom, which seems to have created expectations that operating profits of KOSPI companies including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix could be revised upward for next year."

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