With Omicron Concerns Easing... Samcheonpi and Cheonsudak Reclaimed After a Long Time

Breaking 3000 on KOSPI After 10 Trading Days
Domestic and Global Markets Rebound Following US Fauci's Remarks Easing Omicron Concerns

On the morning of the 8th, with the KOSPI starting on an upward trend and recovering the 3,000-point level, dealers are conversing in the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices each surpassed the 3000 and 1000 marks respectively for the first time since late last month. This is attributed to the easing concerns over the new COVID-19 variant 'Omicron,' which had been weighing down the stock market.

As of 10:39 AM on the 8th, the KOSPI recorded 3025.48, up 1.13% from the previous day. After opening higher at 3017.93, it continued its upward trend. The last time the KOSPI broke the 3000 mark was during intraday trading on November 24, marking 10 trading days since.

By investor type, foreigners and institutions net purchased 143.6 billion KRW and 417.1 billion KRW respectively, while individuals net sold 546.5 billion KRW. Notably, the sustained buying by foreigners appears to have driven the recent upward momentum. Foreigners have consistently net bought for six consecutive trading days from the 1st to the previous day. This is the longest consecutive net buying streak since September 13-28, which lasted nine trading days. The net purchase amount even exceeded the previous period, reaching 2.1885 trillion KRW compared to 1.8112 trillion KRW then.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ rose 1.36% from the previous day to 1010.23. It also started higher at 1006.61 and widened its gains. The KOSDAQ had fallen below the 1000 mark intraday on the 29th of last month and dropped to the 949 level on the 1st. Since then, it has steadily trended upward, surpassing 1000 again after seven trading days.

As concerns over Omicron subsided and the U.S. stock market surged, investor sentiment appears to have recovered in the domestic market as well. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), stated in an interview with AFP on the 7th (local time) that "the Omicron variant is more transmissible than previous variants but is 'almost certainly' not more severe than the Delta variant." The U.S. health authorities emphasized that after reviewing early epidemiological data collected worldwide on Omicron, its fatality rate is lower.

Park Gwangnam, head of the Digital Research Team at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "Uncertainties regarding the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for the 16th have already been somewhat priced into the market, and the Omicron-related factors have acted in combination. Dr. Fauci, who has been quite conservative in his statements so far, spoke with confidence and strength, which seems to have had a positive impact on both domestic and international stock markets."

However, volatility is still expected to persist. Park said, "Although COVID-19 vaccination rates are high and treatments have emerged, confirmed cases continue to rise, so it is still difficult to think about the end of COVID-19. The end of the pandemic and 'With COVID' are different matters. While expectations for an end may arise, if additional accurate data on Omicron are released and fatality rates increase, supply chain issues could resurface, negatively affecting the stock market."

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