US Stock Market Plunges and Foreigners Sell Off, KOSPI and KOSDAQ Start Lower... '60,000 Won Electronics' Collapse

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] The KOSPI is falling in early trading on the 23rd. Foreign investors, who showed net buying the previous day, have turned to selling.

As of 9:15 a.m. on this day, the KOSPI is at 2446.99, down 0.63% (15.51 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2449.31, down 0.54% (13.19 points), and the decline slightly increased.

By investor type, institutions alone are buying stocks worth 61.5 billion KRW, while foreigners and individuals are selling stocks worth 57.6 billion KRW and 3.6 billion KRW, respectively. Despite the strong dollar, foreign investors who showed net buying the previous day are selling in early trading today, accelerating the index's decline.

The domestic stock market appears to be affected as the U.S. stock market showed weakness due to rate hike concerns ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting. On the 22nd (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the S&P 500 index closed at 4137.99, down 2.14% (90.49 points) from the previous trading day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 2.55% (323.64 points) to 12,381.57, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.91% (643.13 points) to 33,063.61. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices recorded their largest declines since June 16.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks are also declining. Samsung Electronics traded at 59,400 KRW, down 1% (600 KRW) from the previous day, breaking below the 60,000 KRW level. SK Hynix is also trading down 1.05%. Samsung Biologics (-1.53%), Naver (NAVER) (-1.02%), and Samsung SDI (-0.83%) are also in decline. Hyundai Motor stands out with a 0.68% (3,000 KRW) rise to 445,500 KRW amid the falling market.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is at 788.22, down 0.96% (7.65 points) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ opened at 789.95, down 0.74% (5.92 points), and the decline widened to nearly 1%. By investor type in the KOSDAQ market, individuals and institutions are buying stocks worth 5 billion KRW and 2.4 billion KRW respectively, while foreigners are net sellers of 7.7 billion KRW.

All of the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ are falling. EcoPro is trading at 111,000 KRW, down 1.94% (2,200 KRW) from the previous day, along with EcoPro BM (-1.68%), Celltrion Pharm (-1.62%), and Pearl Abyss (-1.58%), all showing declines exceeding 1%.

There is a forecast in the securities industry that the recently sharply rising KRW-USD exchange rate will affect foreign investors in the domestic stock market today. Ji-young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, advised, "On the 23rd, the domestic stock market is expected to show a weak trend influenced by macro uncertainties amid further adjustments in the U.S. stock market," adding, "It should be noted that foreign investors' net buying, which has continued during the recent rise in the KRW-USD exchange rate, could turn into net selling if the exchange rate level rises further."

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