Foreigners Turn Net Sellers... KOSPI and KOSDAQ Decline

KOSDAQ Falls About 0.8%
Gas Stocks Rally on Rising Natural Gas Prices

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices have turned downward. Although the KOSPI showed an increase of over 0.3%, the decline has deepened as foreign investors switched to net selling.

As of 10:25 a.m. on the 17th, the KOSPI stood at 2523.51, down 0.4% (10.01 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2536.57, up 0.12% (3.05 points) from the previous day, and maintained an upward trend before turning downward.

The KOSPI showed an early rise of over 0.3%, but soon turned downward as foreign investors switched to net selling during the session. Looking at investment trends, institutions alone bought stocks worth 80.8 billion KRW, while individuals and foreigners sold stocks worth 66.7 billion KRW and 10.2 billion KRW, respectively. Ji-young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “Currently, market participants seem to share a consensus that the worst phase in the economy and corporate profits has passed,” adding, “Although a short-term pause due to overheating from a sharp rebound may appear, the downside rigidity of stock prices is expected to remain firm.”

By sector, the largest gains were seen in electric and gas utilities (1.22%), securities (0.88%), and finance (0.59%). Among individual stocks, Daesung Energy (6.8%), Seoul Gas (2.9%), and Korea Gas Corporation (2.6%) showed notable increases. This is attributed to news that U.S. natural gas prices have risen to the $9 range.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics fell 0.33% from the previous day to 60,800 KRW. LG Energy Solution (-1.41%), SK Hynix (-0.41%), Samsung Biologics (-1.88%), Samsung SDI (-0.95%), Hyundai Motor (-2.03%), and Kakao (-0.12%) declined, while LG Chem (0.3%) and NAVER (0.19%) rose.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index stood at 827.49, down 0.87% (7.25 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 834.91, up 0.02% (0.17 points) from the previous day, but is now showing a decline of over 1%. Regarding investment trends, individuals and institutions bought stocks worth 60.6 billion KRW and 3 billion KRW, respectively, while foreigners alone sold stocks worth 54.2 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare was down 0.26% from the previous day at 78,000 KRW. Kakao Games (-0.51%), HLB (-1.94%), Pearl Abyss (-0.68%), Celltrion Pharm (-1.02%), Alteogen (-2.51%), EcoPro (-0.42%), and Chunbo (-0.46%) also declined, while L&F rose 4.51%.

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