Individual 'Saja' Drives KOSPI Uptrend... KOSDAQ Also Rises 0.5%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The KOSPI is on the rise on the 2nd due to individual investors' net buying dominance.

As of 11:52 a.m. on the day, the KOSPI index was recorded at 2,426.93, up 11.32 points (0.47%) from the previous trading day. Individuals led the index's rise with net purchases worth approximately 32.3 billion KRW. In contrast, foreigners and institutions net sold about 2.6 billion KRW and 41.7 billion KRW, respectively. Foreigners initially net sold over 50 billion KRW in the early session but later reduced their selling volume.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, LG Energy Solution recorded the largest gain, rising 2.92%. Samsung Biologics and Samsung SDI also rose 2.30% and 1.91%, respectively. Hyundai Motor and Kia, which announced their July sales performance and showed a rebound in global wholesale volume trends, rose 1.79% and 1.25%, respectively. On the other hand, Samsung Electronics (-0.34%), LG Chem (-0.32%), Kakao (-0.28%), Naver (-0.21%), and SK Hynix (-0.11%) showed weakness in that order.

By sector, most sectors were strong except steel & metals (-1.22%) and electric & gas utilities (-0.47%). Insurance (1.76%), pharmaceuticals (1.61%), medical precision instruments (1.06%), and transportation equipment (0.98%) rose in that order.

On the day, the USD/KRW exchange rate surged to the 1,357 won level in the early session, hitting a new high for the year before showing a downward trend.

Seo Sang-young, head of the Media Content Division at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "The U.S. stock market narrowed losses the previous day and the favorable employment data weakened recession concerns, triggering rebound buying that seems to have influenced the domestic market. The decline in the USD/KRW exchange rate is also acting as a positive factor for foreign investor demand."

On the 1st (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 31,656.42, up 145.99 points (0.46%) from the previous session, and the large-cap focused S&P 500 index closed at 3,966.85, up 11.85 points (0.30%). In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 31.08 points (0.26%) to 11,785.13.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index rose 3.13 points (0.50%) to 791.45 compared to the previous day. Individuals and institutions net bought about 42.1 billion KRW and 15.9 billion KRW, respectively, while foreigners net sold about 57 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Alteogen recorded the largest gain, rising 1.65%. Celltrion Healthcare (0.71%), Studio Dragon (0.54%), and Kakao Games (0.40%) also showed strength. On the other hand, EcoPro (-0.71%), HLB (-0.61%), and L&F (-0.09%) were weak.

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