KOSPI Falls on US Inflation Concerns... KOSDAQ Starts Down, Then Turns Up

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The KOSPI opened lower on the 11th. This was due to renewed inflation concerns after the U.S. February Consumer Price Index exceeded expectations. The KOSDAQ started off lower but turned to an upward trend shortly after the market opened. The construction sector is rising by over 4% again today, and the upward trend of Celltrion Healthcare, which had fallen the previous day, is also notable.

As of 9:10 a.m. on the day, the KOSPI index was trading at 2,666.24, down 24.08 points (-0.53%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2,665.95, down 14.37 points (-0.54%) from the previous day.

Individual investors are net buying 183.2 billion KRW alone, but this is not enough to offset the selling pressure from foreigners and institutions. Foreigners and institutions are selling 147.4 billion KRW and 37.9 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, only LG Chem and Samsung SDI are maintaining flat prices. LG Chem was on an upward trend (+0.40%) shortly after the market opened but returned to flat. Samsung Electronics (-1.26%), LG Energy Solution (-4.31%), SK Hynix (-0.83%), Naver (-1.51%), Kakao (-1.00%), Hyundai Motor (-0.59%), Samsung SDI (-0.20%), and Kia (-0.57%) are all declining.

By sector, the electrical and electronics sector (-1.35%) is falling the most. Other sectors such as manufacturing (-0.67%) and services (-0.57%) are experiencing minor declines.

As of 9:16 a.m., the KOSDAQ is up 4.35 points (+0.49%) at 893.43. The KOSDAQ opened at 888.57, down 0.51 points (-0.06%) on the day.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare is leading the index with a 4.54% rise. The impact of Celltrion Healthcare’s stock price on the KOSDAQ index reaches 1.0%. Bio and gaming stocks such as Kakao Games (+0.13%), Celltrion Pharm (+3.09%), and Wemade (+0.58%) are rising. On the other hand, EcoPro BM (-1.09%), Pearl Abyss (-1.34%), L&F (-0.31%), HLB (-0.49%), Chunbo (-0.17%), and Seegene (-1.63%) are falling.

By sector, the construction industry is rising 4.14% following yesterday’s trend. Entertainment culture and distribution are rising 2.48% and 2.30%, respectively. Pharmaceuticals (+1.03%), non-metallic (+0.81%), metals (+0.76%), and telecommunications services (+0.73%) are also showing slight gains.

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