Turning Away Foreigners... KOSPI Barely Holds the 3000 Level

KOSDAQ Stumbles Amid Gaming Stocks' Slump... Wemade Closes Down 8.59%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The KOSPI barely held the 3000 mark as foreigners turned to selling. As game stocks, which had been on the rise recently, showed weakness, the KOSDAQ, which had been volatile, also closed lower.

On the 13th, the KOSPI closed at 3001.66, down 0.28% (8.57 points) from the previous day. It rose to as high as 3043.83 at 10:22 a.m. but then declined.

The cause of the index decline was foreigners switching to selling. Until midday, foreigners had net bought nearly 170 billion KRW. However, around 2:40 p.m., they switched to net selling, causing the KOSPI to fall. On the day, foreigners and individuals net sold 132.3 billion KRW and 366.4 billion KRW respectively. Institutions net bought 468.7 billion KRW.

Many sectors showed weakness. Pharmaceuticals had the largest drop at 1.94%. This was followed by services (-1.38%), electric and gas utilities (-1.17%), textiles and apparel (-1.11%), and distribution (-1.11%). On the upside were medical precision (2.11%), food and beverage (0.88%), transportation and warehousing (0.86%), securities (0.81%), and steel and metals (0.57%).

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks declined. Samsung Biologics fell the most by 3.22%. This was followed by Kakao (-2.04%), NAVER (-1.14%), Samsung SDI (-0.85%), LG Chem (-0.27%), and Samsung Electronics (-0.13%). SK Hynix (0.83%), Hyundai Motor (0.72%), and Kia (0.70%) rose. Kakao Bank remained flat.

The KOSDAQ closed at 1005.96, down 0.55% (5.61 points) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ started the day higher but showed volatility, alternating between gains and losses.

Foreigners and institutions selling led to the index decline. Foreigners and institutions net sold 62.3 billion KRW and 94.6 billion KRW respectively. Individuals net bought 184.5 billion KRW.

Many sectors showed weakness. Digital content fell the most by 3.26%. This was followed by paper and wood (-1.66%), IT software & services (-1.61%), other services (-1.56%), and chemicals (-1.39%). On the upside were internet (3.27%), telecommunications services (2.32%), transportation (0.84%), semiconductors (0.79%), and machinery & equipment (0.75%).

The weakness in game stocks negatively affected the overall KOSDAQ. Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, “Following the Game Rating and Administration Committee’s regulatory announcement on play-to-earn (P2E) games, game stocks broadly declined, which led the KOSDAQ’s weakness.” On the day, the Game Rating and Administration Committee notified the cancellation of the rating approval for ‘Muhan Dolpa Samgukji,’ known as Korea’s first P2E game.

Accordingly, Wemade’s decline was the largest at 8.59%. This was followed by HL Biopharma (-3.69%), Celltrion Pharm (-1.92%), Celltrion Healthcare (-1.33%), L&F (-1.26%), EcoPro BM (-1.12%), Pearl Abyss (-1.04%), and Kakao Games (-0.88%). Seegene rose 9.61%. SK Materials is currently suspended from trading due to its absorption merger into holding company SK.

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