KOSPI and KOSDAQ Hit New Lows Again... Falling Over 2%

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] On the 20th, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices started with slight gains but turned downward early in the session, widening their losses. Both major indices once again hit new yearly lows, continuing an unpredictable volatile market trend.

As of 10:27 AM, the KOSPI index was trading at 2394.24, down 1.91% (46.69 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2449.89, up 0.37% (8.96 points) from the previous day, but turned downward early in the session and at one point fell over 2%. During the session, the KOSPI dropped to 2391.27, marking a new yearly low for the fourth trading day in a row. The previous yearly low was 2447.38, recorded on the 15th.

By sector, all sectors except Food & Beverage (0.02%) were down. The declines were led by Electric & Gas (-4.10%), Textile & Apparel (-3.52%), Construction (-3.45%), Medical Precision (-3.41%), Paper & Wood (-3.29%), Machinery (-3.17%), Steel & Metals (-3.14%), Transportation & Warehousing (-2.86%), Non-metallic Minerals (-2.74%), and Electrical & Electronics (-2.58%).

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, only Hyundai Motor (0.29%) and Samsung SDI (0.54%) showed gains. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics (-2.68%), LG Energy Solution (-3.64%), SK Hynix (-3.22%), Samsung Biologics (-3.00%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (-2.89%), LG Chem (-0.69%), NAVER (-2.53%), and Kakao (-3.88%) were all down.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 775.96, down 2.85% (22.73 points) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ also opened higher at 804.48, up 0.72% (5.79 points), but turned downward during the session and set a new yearly low.

All sectors on the KOSDAQ were down. The declines were led by Digital Content (-5.35%), Publishing & Media Replication (-5.33%), Telecommunication Services (-5.20%), Other Manufacturing (-5.08%), Non-metallic (-4.80%), IT Software (-4.68%), Textile/Apparel (-4.16%), Software (-4.13%), and Semiconductors (-4.04%).

Among the top 10 KOSDAQ market cap stocks, secondary battery-related stocks were gaining. EcoPro BM (0.71%), L&F (0.44%), and Cheonbo (0.32%) were up. The biotech stock Alteogen also rose 2.47%. On the other hand, Celltrion Healthcare (-1.60%), Kakao Games (-8.19%), HLB (-2.96%), Pearl Abyss (-4.32%), Celltrion Pharm (-0.94%), and CJ ENM (-2.02%) were down.

Seo Sang-young, Head of Media Content at Mirae Asset Securities, analyzed, "The Fed has indicated a policy to 'unconditionally' control high inflation," adding, "The continuation of the Fed's aggressive monetary policy stance and the resulting increased volatility in the U.S. stock market are burdensome factors for the Korean stock market."

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