KOSPI Gains Accelerate Following Base Rate Hike Decision... KOSDAQ Returns to 800 Level

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] On the 25th, the KOSPI, which started higher, extended its gains and staged a relief rally immediately after the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to raise the base interest rate. The KOSDAQ index returned to the 800 level during the session for the first time in four trading days.

As of 10:50 a.m. on the day, the KOSPI was at 2,470.97, up 0.96% (23.52 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2,459.79, up 0.50% (12.34 points) from the previous day, and then extended its gains following the MPC's decision to raise the base interest rate.

The MPC raised the base interest rate by 0.25 percentage points from the current annual rate of 2.25% to 2.50% at the monetary policy direction meeting held from 9 a.m. that day. This marks the first time in history that the base rate has been raised four consecutive times.

Individual and foreign investors are net selling stocks worth 10.9 billion KRW and 29.5 billion KRW, respectively, in the KOSPI market. On the other hand, institutional investors are buying stocks worth 27.3 billion KRW.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI market are on the rise. Samsung Electronics is trading at 59,500 KRW, up 0.85% (500 KRW) from the previous day. The rise in large internet stocks such as Naver (2.07%) and Kakao (1.60%) is also notable. In addition, Hyundai Motor (1.60%), Samsung Biologics (1.33%), LG Energy Solution (0.78%), and SK Hynix (0.75%) are rising. On the other hand, Samsung SDI (-1.35%) and LG Chem (-0.65%) are declining.

Most sectors in the KOSPI market are also rising. By sector, transportation and warehousing (2.88%), machinery (1.67%), and paper and wood products (1.57%) indices are on the rise. Only the food and beverage sector (-0.24%) is slightly down.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is at 804.31, up 1.41% (11.17 points) from the previous trading day, returning to the 800 level during the session for the first time in four trading days. The KOSDAQ index started at 795.18, up 0.26% (2.04 points) from the previous day, and is rapidly increasing its gains.

In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors are solely net selling stocks worth 12.8 billion KRW. Foreign and institutional investors are buying stocks worth 9.7 billion KRW and 5.6 billion KRW, respectively.

All of the top 10 market capitalization stocks in the KOSDAQ are in the red. The rise in entertainment stocks such as Kakao Games (2.29%), Studio Dragon (2.01%), and Pearl Abyss (1.42%) is notable. Pharmaceutical-related stocks such as HLB (2.98%), Alteogen (2.25%), Celltrion Healthcare (1.66%), and Celltrion Pharm (1.66%) are also rising. Secondary battery-related stocks such as EcoPro (2.14%), EcoPro BM (0.95%), and L&F (0.91%) are also on the rise.

By sector in the KOSDAQ, other manufacturing (2.17%), entertainment and culture (2.20%), and telecommunications equipment (2.06%) are leading the gains. Only the metal sector (-0.41%) is declining.

In the securities industry, there is a forecast that the short-term direction of the domestic stock market will be determined depending on the outcome of the Jackson Hole meeting scheduled for this week. Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), is scheduled to deliver a speech on the theme of 'economic outlook' at the Jackson Hole meeting. Ji-young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, analyzed, "Considering that market instability was triggered after the release of the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes late last week, it is judged that the short-term market direction will be determined after the Jackson Hole meeting."

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