KOSPI Starts Lower... Hawks and LG Energy Solution

On the 19th, dealers were working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. On that day, the KOSPI index opened at 2,840.34, down 23.90 points (0.83%) from the previous session. The won-dollar exchange rate started at 1,195.0 won, up 4.9 won. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] On the 19th, the stock market opened lower due to news that the U.S. Federal Reserve would further accelerate its tightening pace and raise the benchmark interest rate in March, along with supply-demand instability following the listing of LG Energy Solution.

On that day, the KOSPI opened at 2,840.34, down 23.90 points. It started the session 0.83% lower than the previous close. While individuals and foreigners were selling, only institutions began net buying. Thirteen minutes after the market opened, individuals and foreigners were net selling 71.4 billion KRW and 600 million KRW respectively, while institutions continued net buying worth 72.8 billion KRW.

Among all KOSPI-listed stocks, only 135 showed an upward trend. The decline of large-cap stocks dragged the index down. At this time, Samsung Electronics was trading at 76,400 KRW, down 0.78% from the previous close. SK Hynix also fell 1.19% to 125,000 KRW. The decline was even more pronounced among growth stocks. NAVER and Kakao fell 2.07% and 3.26%, respectively. The battery sector also showed notable declines following the LG EnSol listing. LG Chem dropped 2.88%, and Samsung SDI fell 1.19%.

By sector, the bio sectors such as Medical Precision (0.92%) and Pharmaceuticals (0.39%) showed noticeable gains. However, looking closely at each sector, the rise was more of a slight increase due to sector-specific positive factors rather than a broad-based uptrend.

The KOSDAQ also opened lower at 935.06, down 8.88 points, or 0.94% from the previous close. Individuals and institutions were net buying 1.4 billion KRW and 7.2 billion KRW respectively, while foreigners were net selling 5.9 billion KRW.

Among all KOSDAQ stocks, 178 were rising. Among the top 10 by market capitalization, Wemade was the only one showing gains, trading up 0.15% at 120,100 KRW. EcoPro BM, which rose to the top of the KOSDAQ market cap rankings, was trading down 1.00% at 433,900 KRW.

On the 19th, dealers are working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. On this day, the KOSPI index opened at 2,840.34, down 23.90 points (0.83%) from the previous session. The won-dollar exchange rate started at 1,195.0 won, up 4.9 won. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The downward pressure on the market that day is analyzed to be due to expectations that the U.S. might take a more hawkish stance. The previous day, the U.S. stock market closed mostly lower after opinions were raised that the Federal Open Market Committee might raise the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points next month. Additionally, the rise in crude oil prices (WTI) above the $85 level during the session suggested that inflation might persist, which also influenced the market. Domestically, the supply-demand burden is considered to be acting due to the general investor subscription period for LG EnSol's initial public offering ending today.

Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The decline in the U.S. stock market due to the highlighted possibility of aggressive policy changes in the U.S. is a burden on the domestic stock market. However, since the sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields has already affected the domestic market over the past two trading days, the possibility of continued weakness is not high."

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