Despite US CPI Surge... KOSPI Ends Slightly Lower Amid Inflation Peak Optimism

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[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] On the 14th, the domestic stock market closed slightly lower despite the sharp rise in the US June Consumer Price Index (CPI). Despite the negative factor of rising inflation, foreign buying appeared to flow in on expectations that inflation has peaked. Foreign investors switched to net buying in the afternoon in the KOSPI market, leading the index higher.

On the day, the KOSPI closed at 2322.32, down 0.27% (6.29 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened down 0.52% (12.20 points) at 2316.41, fell nearly 0.8% in the early session, but gradually reduced the decline and rose slightly. However, the upward momentum weakened near the end of the session, turning into a decline.

By investor type, individuals and foreigners bought 105.4 billion KRW and 398 billion KRW respectively, while institutions were the sole net sellers with 534.5 billion KRW. Foreign investors, who showed selling pressure in the morning session, turned to net buying in the afternoon, driving the index higher.

Among the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI market, battery material-related stocks such as LG Chem (2.51%) and Samsung SDI (2.46%) showed notable gains. Seokhwan Kim, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, noted, "The strong performance of domestic secondary battery sectors was prominent due to the excellent earnings announced by Ecopro BM after the previous day's close and the strong earnings of Chinese secondary battery material companies." Samsung Electronics Preferred (1.71%) and Kakao (0.28%) also closed higher. On the other hand, Naver (NAVER) closed at 233,500 KRW, down 1.68% (4,000 KRW) from the previous day. Other stocks that closed lower included Samsung Electronics (-0.86%), LG Energy Solution (-0.13%), Samsung Biologics (-0.84%), and Hyundai Motor (-0.54%). SK Hynix ended the day unchanged at 94,000 KRW.

By sector, medical precision (1.64%) and chemicals (1.00%) rose, while telecommunications (-0.95%), electric and gas utilities (-0.88%), and financials (-0.87%) declined.

The KOSDAQ index closed slightly higher at 766.08, up 0.38% (2.90 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ opened at 762.54, down 0.08% (0.64 points) from the previous day, fluctuated throughout the session, and closed higher near the flat line. By investor type, individuals were the sole net buyers with 62 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold 7 billion KRW and 40.4 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ, entertainment-related stocks such as Studio Dragon (2.58%), Kakao Games (1.98%), and Pearl Abyss (1.35%) rose. Bio-related stocks including Seegene (2.06%) and Alteogen (1.57%) also closed higher. Conversely, HLB (-3.73%), Ecopro BM (-2.50%), and Celltrion Healthcare (-2.06%) declined.

By KOSDAQ sector, publishing and media duplication (1.88%), entertainment culture (1.79%), and paper and wood (1.64%) rose, while food and tobacco (-1.46%), distribution (-1.13%), and transportation equipment and parts (-1.10%) declined.

The reason the domestic stock market closed flat despite the negative factor of the US CPI surge appears to be the influx of foreign buying on expectations that inflation has peaked. Researcher Kim reviewed the domestic stock market on the 14th, saying, "After the early session, uncertainty was resolved, and from July onward, when the continuous decline in international food and energy prices since June is fully reflected, there was continuous intraday buying on expectations that inflation could peak out."

Researcher Kyungmin Lee of Daishin Securities also noted, "Besides supply and demand factors, the expectation of a peak in inflation following the US June CPI announcement was positive for the stock market."

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