KOSPI Steady Amid Dual Selling Pressure from Institutions and Foreigners

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the afternoon of the 18th, the KOSPI remained flat due to selling pressure from institutions and foreigners.

At 2:10 PM that day, the KOSPI recorded 2697.39, up 0.11% (2.88 points) from the previous trading day. Individuals showed a net buying intention of approximately 276 billion KRW, supporting the stock market. Institutions and foreigners showed net selling of about 170.9 billion KRW and 81.9 billion KRW, respectively.

It is analyzed that uncertainty caused by the Ukraine crisis is still weighing down the stock market. Russia avoided a default crisis by paying some government bond interest in US dollars, but the international credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgraded its credit rating from CCC- to CC, one notch lower.

No Geun-chang, head of the Research Center at Hyundai Motor Securities, said, "There was a relief rally due to the US interest rate hike, but uncertainty remains as the Russia-Ukraine war issue has not yet been resolved." Kim Yong-gu, a researcher at Samsung Securities, also said, "Although uncertainty has decreased due to the Federal Reserve's 0.25 percentage point rate hike, and the US stock market has risen, the Russia risk still exists."

Among the top market capitalization stocks, LG Chem showed a strong rise of over 4%. Kakao (1.88%), Samsung Biologics (1.23%), Hyundai Motor (0.89%), and LG Energy Solution (0.8%) followed in gains. Samsung Electronics (-1.12%), Samsung SDI (-0.79%), and Kia (-0.28%) showed declines.

By sector, textiles and apparel (1.91%) had the largest increase. This was followed by medical precision (1.88%), transportation and warehousing (1.81%), and insurance (1.7%) sectors, which also rose. Non-metallic minerals (-0.61%), electrical and electronics (-0.59%), electric and gas utilities (-0.49%), and construction (-0.46%) declined.

The KOSDAQ index rose 0.61% (5.61 points) from the previous session to 919.74. Individuals and foreigners were net buyers of 60 billion KRW and 3.1 billion KRW, respectively, while institutions were net sellers of 19.1 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Kakao Games (2.68%), Pearl Abyss (2.26%), and Cheonbo (1.02%) rose, while HLB (-4.41%) and Wemade (-0.6%) declined.

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