'Foreign Chase Buying' Keeps KOSPI Firm... KOSDAQ Also 'Rebounds'

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Both the KOSPI index and the KOSDAQ index are showing upward trends on the afternoon of the 21st. The KOSPI index successfully rebounded during the morning session, and the KOSDAQ also turned upward in the afternoon, maintaining a firm upward trend.

As of 1:45 AM on the day, the KOSPI was at 2,978.57, up 15.96 points (0.53%) compared to the previous day. Institutions net bought 577.3 billion KRW, and foreigners joined later, purchasing about 35.6 billion KRW worth. On the other hand, individuals net sold about 611.1 billion KRW.

The rebound in the index was led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. These semiconductor stocks showed strength from early trading after U.S. semiconductor company Micron announced strong earnings the previous day. Samsung Electronics rose 1.30%, and SK Hynix increased 3.32% on the day.

With these two stocks showing strength, large-cap stocks that had been moving sideways in the early session also rebounded. Among the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI, Kakao is up 1.33%, and except for LG Chem (-1.68%) and Samsung SDI (-1.07%), the other stocks are steady. LG Electronics is rising more than 4%.

Lee Jin-woo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, "Even though the U.S. market was not favorable due to Omicron and interest rate hike risks, semiconductors are holding the center. Semiconductor demand is expected to have continuity beyond expectations, and since it is the year-end and the recent process of bottoming out, momentum will be created."

The KOSDAQ is trading at 995.27, up 4.76 points (0.48%). The KOSDAQ started higher but turned downward shortly after opening, then successfully rebounded again in the afternoon. Individuals net sold about 127.6 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions net bought about 11.3 billion KRW and 127.4 billion KRW, respectively.

Wemade is showing the steepest rise at 4.24%, and game stocks such as Kakao Games(2.68%) and Pearl Abyss (1.13%) are strong. The COVID-19 diagnostic kit company showed more than a 4% rise in the early session but has given back gains in the afternoon.

Lee Eun-taek, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "Lockdowns are being strengthened due to the spread of the Omicron variant. However, the stock market bottom (PER 10 times) is at the level where past tightening adjustments formed the bottom, so it is still necessary to be cautious about joining late panic selling around this area."

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