KOSPI in a Watchful Stance, Fluctuates Within a Narrow Range... Foreigners Switch to Net Buying During Trading Session

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The domestic stock market on the morning of the 31st is fluctuating within a narrow range as investors remain cautious ahead of the release of the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which provides insight into China's economic conditions.

As of 10:05 a.m., the KOSPI index stood at 2,662.78, up 6.88 points (0.26%) from the previous day. The index started slightly lower but rebounded modestly in the early session before continuing to trade near the previous close. Institutional investors led the decline by net selling 31.7 billion KRW, while individual investors were net buyers of about 21.9 billion KRW. Foreign investors, who initially sold, switched to net buying with 6.1 billion KRW.

On the Korea Exchange, 498 stocks rose while 524 declined, reflecting market indecision. This comes amid a U.S. market holiday yesterday and mixed sentiments between hopes for an inflation peak and concerns over the Federal Reserve's continued hawkish stance.

Among the top market cap stocks on the KOSDAQ, Samsung Electronics, LG Energy Solution, SK Hynix, and Samsung Biologics are down around 1%. Conversely, NAVER, Hyundai Motor, and LG Chem are up more than 1%. These stocks had shown strength last week in the U.S. tech sector and continued to perform well yesterday. However, Kakao is slightly down by 0.36%.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 886.88, up 0.44 points (0.05%). Individual investors are driving the rebound with net purchases of 138.9 billion KRW, while foreign and institutional investors are net sellers of 107.8 billion KRW and 30.7 billion KRW respectively, engaging in a tug of war.

LN F posted the largest gain among the top KOSDAQ stocks, rising over 3%. Hi Investment & Securities boosted the stock, citing the visibility of LN F's entry into the North American market and Tesla's potential application of dry electrode processes, which could enhance earnings growth. EcoPro BM also recorded gains in the 2% range.

Besides these, most top KOSDAQ stocks are rising except for Celltrion Healthcare (-0.33%) and Celltrion Pharm (-0.87%).

Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, commented, "Although expectations for a peak in U.S. inflation have increased, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller's hawkish remarks that a 50 basis point rate hike should be maintained until a 'real' decline in inflation is observed pose a burden on the domestic stock market. While the Chinese PMI is expected to improve slightly from last month’s reading, it still remains below the baseline of 50, which could raise expectations for the Chinese government's active economic stimulus policies."

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