KOSPI Closes Above 2740 Amid Net Buying by Individuals and Institutions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI closed higher due to net buying by individuals and institutions. The news of a scheduled meeting between the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers during the session appears to have improved investor sentiment toward risk assets.

On the 18th, the KOSPI closed at 2,744.52, up 0.02% (0.43 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI initially fell more than 1% to 2,711.88 early in the session but rebounded to as high as 2,747.08 points during the day. Looking at investment trends, individuals and institutions net bought stocks worth 43.5 billion KRW and 103 billion KRW respectively, while foreigners sold stocks worth 141.1 billion KRW alone.

The market initially followed the decline in the U.S. stock market and showed a downward trend but rebounded after the announcement of the scheduled meeting between the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers. Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "While the burden of U.S. monetary tightening remains, the domestic stock market showed a decline early in the session due to the combined effects of geopolitical risks surrounding the Ukraine situation and weak economic indicators," adding, "Net buying by institutions, mainly pension funds, supported the market's downward rigidity."

By sector, machinery (2.96%), transportation and warehousing (2.14%), construction (1.55%), and electricity and gas (1.24%) rose in that order. The machinery sector led the sector index increase, with Doosan Heavy Industries rising 9.7% on expectations that it would exit creditor management. In the transportation and warehousing sector, HMM and Pan Ocean contributed to the index rise, increasing by 6% and 3%, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all showed declines except Kakao (0.88%). Others such as Samsung Electronics (-0.93%), SK Hynix (-1.13%), NAVER (-2%), Samsung Biologics (-0.39%), LG Chem (-1.72%), and Samsung SDI (-0.36%) also fell.

The KOSDAQ index closed at 881.71, up 0.86% (7.49 points) from the previous trading day at the same time. The KOSDAQ index fell to the 869 level during the session, widening the decline, but then rose about 0.8% to reach the 880 level. Looking at investment trends, foreigners and individuals net bought stocks worth 42.4 billion KRW and 1 billion KRW respectively, while institutions alone net sold stocks worth 36 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (-1.43%), EcoPro BM (-0.74%), Pearl Abyss (-1.56%), and Celltrion Pharm (-0.58%) declined, while L&F (0.54%), Kakao Games (0.71%), Wemade (0.18%), and HLB (2.14%) rose.

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