KOSPI Turns Down After Initial Rise, Fluctuates Around 2370 Level... KOSDAQ Down About 0.7%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] On the 19th, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices, which started the day higher, turned downward shortly after the market opened. Foreign investors are selling in both major markets, fueling the decline in the indices. The securities industry expects a highly volatile market ahead of this week's scheduled U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

As of 9:45 a.m. on the day, the KOSPI stood at 2,373.35, down 0.40% (9.43 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2,388.73, up 0.25% (5.95 points) from the previous day, but soon turned downward.

Foreign investors are selling 82.2 billion KRW worth of stocks in the KOSPI market. Meanwhile, individual and institutional investors are net buyers of 61.4 billion KRW and 16.6 billion KRW, respectively.

Samsung Electronics, the leading stock in the KOSPI, is showing an upward trend, trading at 56,900 KRW, up 1.25% (700 KRW) from the previous day. Samsung Electronics Preferred shares are also trading up 0.78%. On the other hand, LG Energy Solution is trading down sharply, falling 3.85% (19,500 KRW) to 486,500 KRW.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is at 764.38, down 0.74% (5.66 points) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ opened at 771.52, up 0.19% (1.48 points) from the previous day, but similarly turned downward and the decline is gradually increasing.

Foreign investors are also selling alone in the KOSDAQ market, offloading 72.1 billion KRW, contributing to the index's decline. Individual and institutional investors are buying 56.1 billion KRW and 16.2 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ, secondary battery-related stocks such as Ecopro (-2.91%) and L&F (-2.63%) are declining. Kakao Games is trading down sharply, falling 5.66% (2,750 KRW) to 45,850 KRW compared to the previous day.

The securities industry expects a volatile market ahead of the FOMC, where the U.S. benchmark interest rate will be decided this week. Ji-young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, advised, "Due to the spread of caution before the FOMC, stock price volatility will increase," but also recommended, "It is appropriate to prepare for a scenario where stock price resilience improves after the FOMC ends, supported by the materialization of negative factors as a given fact."

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