Domestic Stock Market Drops Over 2% Following Powell's Speech Aftermath... Kakao Falls More Than 4%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The domestic stock market recorded a decline of over 2% on the afternoon of the 29th, following strong hawkish remarks by Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed).

As of 1:47 p.m. that day, the KOSPI index stood at 2,425.56, down 55.47 points (2.24%) from the previous session. Foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 115.9 billion KRW and 425.9 billion KRW respectively, leading the index decline. In contrast, individual investors were the sole net buyers, purchasing stocks worth approximately 536.6 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all showed weakness, with Kakao falling the most at 4.74%. This was followed by Naver (-3.51%), SK Hynix (-2.94%), Hyundai Motor (-2.84%), LG Chem (-2.44%), Samsung Electronics (-2.33%), Samsung SDI (-2.22%), Samsung Biologics (-1.77%), Kia (-1.65%), and LG Energy Solution (-1.29%).

By sector, textiles and apparel (-3.81%), transportation and warehousing (-3.67%), services (-3.15%), construction (-3.06%), and medical precision (-2.65%) declined in order. Non-metallic minerals (0.37%) was the only sector to record gains.

The domestic stock market showed a downward trend after Chairman Powell reaffirmed the tightening stance in his speech at the Jackson Hole meeting, stating, "We need to maintain a restrictive stance for the time being." Powell also said, "Unfortunately, reducing inflation comes with costs."

Additionally, Powell's remarks led to a stronger dollar, pushing the won-dollar exchange rate above 1,350 KRW intraday for the first time in 13 years and 4 months, which also affected foreign investor flows.

The KOSDAQ index fluctuated around the 780 level. At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was recorded at 780.00, down 22.45 points (2.80%) from the previous day. It closed at 802.45 the previous day but opened at 780.48, down 21.97 points (2.74%) that day. Individual and foreign investors bought stocks worth approximately 103.5 billion KRW and 35.5 billion KRW respectively, while institutions sold about 130.2 billion KRW net.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Alteogen (-4.29%), L&F (-4.25%), Celltrion Pharm (-3.83%), Pearl Abyss (-3.40%), Studio Dragon (-3.13%), Celltrion Healthcare (-2.66%), EcoPro (-2.57%), EcoPro BM (-2.19%), Kakao Games (-2.11%), and HLB (-2.02%) showed weakness in that order.

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