Weak Market Amid US Big Step Concerns... Donghak Ants Increase Net Buying, KOSPI Decline Narrows

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The domestic stock market showed weakness on the 6th amid simultaneous selling by foreigners and institutions. While the US stock market declined due to hawkish remarks from the Federal Reserve (Fed), dampening investor sentiment, individual investors stepped in to buy at lower prices, reducing the extent of the decline.

As of 10:20 a.m. on the day, the KOSPI index stood at 945.24, down 7.23 points (0.76%) from the previous trading day. Institutions were net sellers worth 72.7 billion KRW, foreigners net sellers worth 52.4 billion KRW, while individuals were net buyers worth 129.3 billion KRW.

On this day, 682 stocks on the KOSPI market showed a downward trend, with weakness in large-cap stocks being prominent. Among the top 10 KOSPI market capitalization stocks, only Samsung SDI (0.50%) showed an upward trend, while the rest were all declining.

In particular, Samsung Electronics fell to 68,600 KRW near its lowest price from the opening price ahead of its preliminary first-quarter earnings announcement on the 7th. This is interpreted as an effect of the Fed's hawkish (preference for monetary tightening) remarks, which caused the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to plunge over 4%. SK Hynix also recorded a drop of more than 2%. Naver (NAVER) and Kakao also recorded declines of around 2%.

By sector, insurance showed a strong rise of over 2%, and finance (0.30%), food and beverages (0.29%), and non-metallic minerals (0.19%) showed slight gains. On the other hand, textiles and apparel fell 2.16%, and electronics, services, and banks also showed declines of around 1%.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 944.97, down 7.50 points (0.79%) from the previous day. Institutions were net sellers worth 75.4 billion KRW, foreigners net sellers worth 56.5 billion KRW, while individuals were net buyers worth 135.9 billion KRW.

On this day, 1,032 stocks on the KOSDAQ market showed a downward trend. Among the top market capitalization stocks, only Wemade (4.92%) showed strength alone. Kakao Games (0.25%) was slightly up, while most stocks such as Celltrion Healthcare (-1.55%), Pearl Abyss (-2.36%), Celltrion Pharm (-1.97%), Chunbo (-1.41%), HLB (-2.76%), and CJ ENM (-1.43%) were weak.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The domestic stock market is showing stagnant price movements due to the sharp decline in the US Nasdaq and cautious sentiment over the March FOMC minutes. However, compared to the US stock market, the domestic market has shown limited downward pressure overall since mid-March, as its price recovery has not been strong."

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