Concerns Over Russia-Ukraine Conflict... KOSPI and KOSDAQ Decline

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[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI continues its downward trend. This is the result of heightened geopolitical tensions as the issue of the Ukraine war resurfaces.

As of 10:32 a.m. on the 18th, the KOSPI stood at 2,721.16, down 0.87% (22.93 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened the day at 2,714.52, down 1.08% (29.57 points) from the previous day, maintaining its downward trend. Looking at investor trends, only individual investors are net buyers. Foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 121 billion KRW and 69.3 billion KRW, respectively.

By sector, Medical Precision (-1.68%), Electric & Electronics (-1.43%), Banking (-1.35%), and Pharmaceuticals (-1.36%) declined in that order. Most of the top market capitalization stocks showed a downward trend. Samsung Electronics (-1.33%), LG Energy Solution (-0.99%), SK Hynix (-1.88%), NAVER (-2.13%), Samsung Biologics (-1.84%), LG Chem (-0.31%), Kakao (-0.77%), Hyundai Motor (-1.09%), and Samsung SDI (-0.72%) all fell.

Above all, as the possibility of Russia invading Ukraine dragged down the U.S. stock market, the domestic stock market is also being affected. Although the Russian Ministry of Defense continues to claim that troop withdrawals are underway, the president believes there is a high possibility that Russia will launch an invasion within days. President Biden also assesses that Russia is likely to invade Ukraine within days.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index stood at 869.97, down 0.52% (4.25 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ opened the day at 862.19, down 1.38% (12.03 points) from the previous day, continuing its downward trend. Looking at investor trends, individual investors alone bought stocks worth 110.4 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 48.5 billion KRW and 58 billion KRW, respectively.

By sector, Retail (-1.2%), Digital Content (-1.09%), Pharmaceuticals (-1.01%), IT Software (-0.91%), Software (-0.84%), and IT Components (-0.86%) showed the largest declines. Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare fell 3.17% from the previous day, trading at 61,100 KRW. Others such as EcoPro BM (-0.88%), L&F (-3.03%), Pearl Abyss (-3.23%), Wemade (-1.11%), HLB (-2.3%), and Celltrion Pharm (-2.31%) also declined.

Researcher Najunghwan of Cape Securities said, “With the expansion of geopolitical risks, the domestic stock market will continue to face downward pressure. However, except for the worst-case scenario such as a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, the bottom of the KOSPI index is expected to be around 2,650 points, the lowest level of the year.”

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