Solo Individual Defense 'Insufficient'... KOSPI Slightly Touches 2700 but Closes Below

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] On the 18th, the domestic stock market, which started lower, showed signs of recovering losses during the session but ultimately closed in a downtrend. The KOSPI attempted to reclaim the 2700 level during the session but ended the day around 2690. The KOSDAQ fluctuated around the 920 level but eventually closed below 920. The impact of the Shanghai lockdown was reflected in the data, with China's March retail sales declining 3.5% year-on-year, marking the first decrease since July 2020, which dampened market investor sentiment. The strong dollar trend also exacerbated market anxiety.

On that day, the KOSPI opened lower at 2685.04, reduced its losses during the session, and attempted to reclaim 2700. However, it soon slipped back to the 2690 level and remained weak. It closed down 0.11% at 2693.21. The KOSDAQ also opened lower at 921.69 and fluctuated between the high 910s and low 920s, closing down 0.67% at 918.23.

Individual investors alone acted as 'buyers' defending against the index decline, but it was insufficient to overcome the combined 'selling' by foreigners and institutions, resulting in reduced index momentum.

In the KOSPI market, individuals bought stocks worth approximately 105.1 billion KRW. Foreigners and institutions sold about 98.7 billion KRW and 18.9 billion KRW, respectively. In the KOSDAQ market, only individuals net purchased about 196.6 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions net sold about 100.7 billion KRW and 29.6 billion KRW, respectively. However, foreigners net bought about 432.5 billion KRW in the futures market. Both individuals and foreigners recorded net selling dominance.

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, noted, “Uncertainty factors that have been reflected so far, such as concerns over China's economic instability, delayed peak of inflation due to rising oil price pressures, and continued rise in U.S. Treasury yields reflecting Federal Reserve tightening burdens, are still present, limiting the upper bound of the stock market.”

Samsung Electronics, the largest market cap leader in the KOSPI, hit a new intraday low but rebounded due to bargain buying and closed higher. It closed at 66,700 KRW, up 0.15% from the previous trading day. Early in the session, it fell to 66,000 KRW, breaking the 52-week low recorded just the day before on the 15th. However, bargain buying flooded in, reducing losses during the session and pushing the price up to 67,100 KRW. Foreigners and institutions net sold about 83 billion KRW and 8.9 billion KRW, respectively, but the selling pressure was weaker compared to recent trading days. Other stocks such as SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, and Kia also closed higher.

Most of the top market cap stocks in the KOSDAQ showed a downward trend. Only EcoPro BM rose nearly 2% on news of increased prices for cathode materials. L&F fell about 1%, and Cheonbo dropped nearly 4%. In the Seoul foreign exchange market that day, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,234.40 KRW per dollar, up 4.80 KRW (0.39%) from the previous day.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon session of the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,234.40 KRW, up 4.80 KRW (0.39%) from the previous trading day.

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