Foreigners and Institutions Flood Market... KOSPI Retreats to 2420 Level

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Following the decline in the U.S. stock market due to concerns over tightening, the domestic stock market is also showing weakness on the 1st.

As of 9:50 a.m. that day, the KOSPI index was recorded at 2,426.54, down 45.51 points (1.84%) from the previous day. It started at 2,443.00, down 29.05 points (1.18%) from the previous session, but the decline widened thereafter. Foreigners and institutions sold about 182.9 billion KRW and 321 billion KRW respectively, leading the index down. On the other hand, individuals were the sole net buyers with 495.9 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all showed declines. Kakao, down 3.00%, showed the largest drop. This was followed by Samsung SDI (-2.84%), SK Hynix (-2.73%), Naver (-2.71%), LG Chem (-2.22%), Samsung Biologics (-2.16%), Samsung Electronics (-2.01%), Kia (-1.86%), Hyundai Motor (-1.28%), and LG Energy Solution (-0.76%).

By sector, textiles and apparel (-2.89%), services (-2.46%), construction (-2.26%), and pharmaceuticals (-2.25%) showed weakness.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was also declining. It was at 796.58, down 10.46 points (1.30%) from the previous day. It started trading at 800.74, down 6.30 points (0.78%), but the decline widened, falling below the 800 mark. Individuals bought about 155.6 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold about 92.5 billion KRW and 64.2 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, except for HLB (0.10%) and EcoPro (0.09%), most were in decline. Alteogen fell 4.24%, recording the largest drop. Kakao Games dropped 4.17% following news of users considering refund lawsuits. This was followed by Celltrion Pharm (-3.32%), L&F (-3.25%), Pearl Abyss (-2.99%), and Celltrion Healthcare (-2.77%).

The won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,342.0 won, up 4.4 won from the previous session, showing an upward trend.

On the 31st of last month (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 31,510.43, down 280.44 points (0.88%) from the previous session; the large-cap S&P 500 index closed at 3,955.00, down 31.16 points (0.78%). The tech-heavy Nasdaq index recorded 11,816.20, down 66.93 points (0.56%).

As economic indicators showed a slowdown in the employment market, the U.S. stock market initially recorded gains. However, due to the European Central Bank (ECB)'s possibility of a 75 basis points (1bp=0.01%) interest rate hike, the market turned downward and the decline widened thereafter.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, explained, "Due to external burdens such as inflation pressure from Europe and weakness in the U.S. stock market, along with some retracement following the mechanical rise the previous day, a weak trend is expected."

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