KOSPI and KOSDAQ Plunge Due to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine... KOSPI Closes Below 2650 Level

Due to geopolitical tensions surrounding Russia and Ukraine, the KOSPI started on a downward trend. On the 24th, a dealer is checking the situation in Ukraine at the Hana Bank headquarters dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices closed sharply lower. Following the news that Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the start of a military operation in eastern Ukraine, both foreign and institutional investors engaged in heavy sell-offs, causing both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices to plunge.

On the 24th, the KOSPI index closed at 2,648.80, down 2.60% (70.73 points) from the previous trading day. Both institutions and foreigners engaged in simultaneous sell-offs in the KOSPI market. Foreigners net sold 687.3 billion KRW, and institutions net sold 485.6 billion KRW. However, individual investors net bought 1.1121 trillion KRW, helping to cushion further declines.

By sector, all sectors except the electricity and gas sector, which is considered a beneficiary of the Ukraine situation, recorded declines. While electricity and gas rose 1.61%, transportation equipment (-4.02%), electrical and electronics (-3.18%), chemicals (-3.18%), manufacturing (-3.03%), and pharmaceuticals (-2.88%) showed downward trends in that order.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, LG Chem (-6.79%), Samsung SDI (-6.01%), Kia (-5.90%), and LG Energy Solution (-5.77%) all showed declines in the 5-6% range.

On the same day, the KOSDAQ index closed at 848.21, down 3.32% (29.12 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ index started trading at 869.90, failing to hold the 870 level, and fell below 850 during the session following news of the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

Looking at investor trends, individuals and institutions net bought 174.9 billion KRW and 17.6 billion KRW, respectively. In contrast, foreigners net sold 155.8 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, L&F (-6.05%), EcoPro BM (-5.76%), Chunbo (-5.70%), Kakao Games (-4.30%), and Celltrion Healthcare (-3.98%) showed declines in that order.

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