"Strong Earnings Drive" Stock Market Closes Higher... KOSDAQ Recovers to 910 Level

On the 4th, dealers were working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. On that day, the KOSPI index opened at 2714.83, up 7.01 points (0.26%) thanks to buying pressure from foreigners and institutions. The KOSDAQ started at 888.51, down 3.09 points (0.35%). The won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1202 won, down 4.4 won. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] On the 9th, the domestic stock market was driven by earnings. Centered on stocks that announced strong annual earnings last year, foreign investors and institutions showed simultaneous buying, leading the KOSPI to rise for the second consecutive day, while the KOSDAQ recovered the 910 level.

The KOSPI index closed at 2,768.85, up 22.38 points (0.81%) for the day. Foreign investors and institutions led the index rise with net purchases of 234.8 billion KRW and 196.9 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals sold a net 458.9 billion KRW.

The KOSDAQ index also closed at 910.53, up 15.26 points (1.71%). The index, which fell below the 900 level during the January correction, briefly recovered on the 4th but then dropped below 900 again before rebounding in two days. On this day, individuals sold a net 61.1 billion KRW, while foreign investors and institutions bought net 12.8 billion KRW and 47.2 billion KRW, respectively.

It is analyzed that the improvement in investor sentiment was influenced by the U.S. stock market rising on the previous day despite rising Treasury yields, supported by strong earnings. Additionally, after the U.S. market closed, the San Francisco Federal Reserve President mentioned that "the Fed cannot be too aggressive with rate hikes, and there is a possibility of inflation slowing down," which expanded gains in U.S. after-hours futures and led to a broad rise in Asian markets.

Park Sun-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Today, the domestic stock market continued the rise in reopening-related stocks," adding, "Expectations for Iran's participation in the crude oil market following the resumption of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations led to a decline in international oil prices, boosting the airline and travel sectors. KB Financial Group and Shinsegae showed strength due to strong earnings and shareholder return policies."

In fact, Shinsegae International rose more than 10% after achieving record-high earnings last year due to COVID-19 revenge consumption. Samsung Electronics (1.63%) and SK Hynix (0.80%), reflecting expectations of semiconductor industry improvement, also closed higher, and KB Financial jumped 5.11%.

On the other hand, LG Energy Solution, which surged earlier this month on expectations of passive fund inflows, closed down 5.72%. This was attributed to earnings that fell short of expectations announced the previous day and CLSA, a Hong Kong-based securities firm, issuing a 'sell' rating. Notably, institutions turned to net selling LG Energy Solution for the first time since its listing. Samsung SDI gained 1.80%, benefiting from the positive spillover.

Samsung Biologics, which rose nearly 5% the previous day due to U.S. export restrictions on Chinese biotech companies, recorded a 3% decline.

Among the top market cap stocks on the KOSDAQ, CJ ENM recorded the largest gain, rising 9.52% on news of temporarily suspending its physical division. Secondary battery component stocks such as EcoPro BM (3.10%) and L&F (1.81%) also showed strength. Wemade, which has been surging since the 4th, rose more than 5% intraday but gave up some gains to close up 3.81%. Kakao Games (-3.76%) was the only top KOSDAQ stock to decline.

Lee Jin-woo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, "Today’s market should be seen as a technical rebound process," adding, "Notably, the magnitude of stock gains reflected earnings, with bank stocks performing well recently."

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