KOSPI Battles Around 2520, Taking a Breather Due to Profit-Taking... 60,000-Won Electronics and Hynix on the Rise

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The KOSPI is engaged in a tug-of-war around the 2520 level as foreign investors and institutions buy while individual investors sell. The upper range appears to be controlled by profit-taking selling pressure.

As of 11:00 AM on the 12th, the index recorded a slight decline of 0.01% at 2521.30. Starting at 2519.66, the index rose to the 2530 level early in the session, supported by buying from foreign investors and institutions, but was soon pushed down to the 2520 level by selling from individual investors. After reaching an intraday high of 2533 at 9:06 AM, it dropped to an intraday low of 2514 at 9:53 AM. Since then, the decline has narrowed, fluctuating around the 2520 level, maintaining a sideways trend.

Foreign investors have purchased about 1.2 billion KRW, and institutions, mainly pension funds, have bought 109.1 billion KRW. In contrast, individual investors are realizing profits by selling about 118.7 billion KRW. However, in the KOSDAQ market, individual investors are buying about 119.5 billion KRW, while foreign investors and institutions are net sellers of 49.3 billion KRW and 59.7 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix show notable recovery. Samsung Electronics rose 200 KRW (0.33%), regaining the 60,000 KRW level after three trading days. SK Hynix also increased by 600 KRW (0.64%) to 93,900 KRW. Conversely, LG Energy Solution and Celltrion declined by 3.07% and 2.59%, respectively. In particular, LG Energy Solution’s decline is accelerating as profit-taking selling emerges following its recent rebound.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The domestic stock market, which smoothly passed the options expiration day yesterday, needs to pay attention again to the inflow of foreign investors’ supply and demand." He added, "Yesterday, the market rose mainly among large-cap companies due to financial investment arbitrage trading following foreign investors’ net futures buying, so there is a possibility of some profit-taking selling."

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The KOSPI is expected to attempt to stabilize around the 2500 level, supported by news that the U.S. producer price index fell short of expectations and the decline in domestic import prices (from 33.6% in June to 27.9% in July), which raises hopes for easing corporate profitability issues." She added, "However, due to short-term profit-taking selling following four consecutive weeks of gains on a weekly basis, the index’s upper range is expected to be limited today, showing a price movement that pauses to catch its breath."

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