'Omicron Lockdown' Adversity on Second Day... Semiconductor Supports KOSPI

On the 21st, the KOSPI opened at 2,981.67, up 18.67 points (0.63%) from the previous trading day, at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. The won-dollar exchange rate started at 1,189.8 won, down 1.0 won from the previous trading day. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The domestic stock market showed relatively strong performance on the 21st, supported by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The KOSPI index fluctuated around the flat line, while the KOSDAQ started with a rebound but turned to a downward trend shortly after the opening, showing weakness.

As of 10:40 AM, the KOSPI stood at 2,974.39, up 11.39 points (0.38%) from the previous day. After closing sharply down 1.81% the day before, the KOSPI opened at 2,981.67, up 0.63%, and has been fluctuating around the flat line since. Institutions were net buyers worth approximately 345.3 billion KRW, while individuals and foreigners were net sellers worth about 314 billion KRW and 27.1 billion KRW, respectively.

Recently, global stock markets have been dampened by concerns over economic slowdown as countries reimpose lockdowns due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, which has weakened investor sentiment. However, the KOSPI has held up relatively well, thanks to strong performances by Samsung Electronics (1.30%) and SK Hynix (3.32%), buoyed by the strong earnings report from U.S. semiconductor company Micron the day before.

Among other large-cap stocks, Naver (NAVER, 0.67%), Kakao (0.88%), and Hyundai Motor (0.98%) showed slight gains, while electric vehicle battery stocks such as LG Chem (-2.13%) and Samsung SDI (-2.29%) experienced steep declines.

Lee Jae-man, a researcher at Hana Investment & Securities, explained, "Because the global stock market situation is very unfavorable, the domestic index could have experienced a larger drop overall, but Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which attracted buying interest due to Micron's strong earnings report in the U.S. the day before, are supporting the market."

The KOSDAQ index was at 987.22, down 3.29 points (0.33%) from the previous day. Individuals and foreigners were net sellers worth approximately 6.7 billion KRW and 41 billion KRW, respectively, while institutions recorded net purchases worth 56.8 billion KRW.

COVID-19 diagnostic device manufacturer Seegene showed a strong gain of 3.86%, whereas secondary battery stocks such as L&F (-2.17%) and EcoPro BM (-1.54%) declined. Most other large-cap stocks showed slight weakness. Lee Jin-woo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, "Although the U.S. market was not favorable due to Omicron and rising interest rate risks, semiconductors are holding the center. Semiconductor demand is expected to show continuity beyond expectations, and since it is year-end and the market is recently bottoming out, momentum is likely to build."

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