Exchange Rate Hits New High, Foreign Selling Continues... KOSPI Battles Around 2440 Level

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] The KOSPI continued its downward trend in the morning session on the 23rd. Foreign investors maintained a net selling trend, influencing the index's decline.

As of 10:50 a.m., the KOSPI stood at 2443.43, down 0.77% (19.07 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2449.31, down 0.54% (13.19 points), and the decline has gradually widened.

By investor type, institutions alone purchased stocks worth 79.1 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold net amounts of 55.3 billion KRW and 26.0 billion KRW, respectively.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks are also declining. Samsung Electronics traded at 59,300 KRW, down 1.17% (700 KRW) from the previous day, threatening the 59,000 KRW level. Samsung Biologics (-2.23%), LG Chem (-2.03%), and Samsung SDI (-1.00%) are also experiencing significant declines. Hyundai Motor (0.26%) and Kakao (0.13%) are slightly rising despite the overall downtrend.

Looking at the sector indices in the KOSPI market, machinery (1.45%) is rising, and transportation equipment (0.65%) is also slightly up. On the other hand, textiles and apparel (-2.40%), pharmaceuticals (-1.96%), and food and beverages (-1.84%) are declining.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is at 790.13, down 0.72% (5.74 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ opened at 789.95, down 0.74% (5.92 points), and is moving sideways.

By investor type, individuals alone purchased stocks worth 25.6 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutional investors sold net amounts of 22.3 billion KRW and 8.2 billion KRW, respectively.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ are also declining. Celltrion Healthcare, the largest KOSDAQ stock by market cap, traded at 72,600 KRW, down 2.16% (1,600 KRW) from the previous day. Alteogen fell sharply by 3.48% (2,300 KRW) to 63,800 KRW. Others such as HLB (-2.30%), Chunbo (-2.08%), and EcoPro (-2.03%) are also down. Game stocks like Kakao Games (0.93%) and Pearl Abyss (0.18%) are slightly rising.

By KOSDAQ sector, metals (0.44%), construction (0.40%), and digital content (0.32%) are slightly up, while entertainment culture (-1.87%), textiles and apparel (-1.46%), and distribution (-1.46%) are mostly down.

The continued rise of the KRW-USD exchange rate is presumed to be affecting foreign investors' sentiment in the domestic stock market. Shortly after the foreign exchange market opened at 9:15 a.m., the KRW-USD exchange rate rose 4.1 KRW from the previous closing price to 1,343.9 KRW per dollar, breaking the previous day's record high again.

Due to the strong dollar, the U.S. stock market closed lower the previous day, and it is analyzed that the domestic market will also be affected today. Sangyoung Seo, head of the Media Content Division at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The U.S. stock market's decline, mainly in tech stocks due to the strong dollar, will negatively impact the Korean stock market. Amid concerns over the aggressive U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), semiconductor stocks broadly declined, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling 3.72% and the small-cap Russell 2000 Index dropping 2.13%, increasing psychological pressure, which is also a negative factor."

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