KOSPI Drops Below 2370 as Foreigners Increase Selling Pressure by Extending "Paljase" Positions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] On the morning of the 19th, the KOSPI is gradually increasing its decline during the trading session. Foreign investors are accelerating the index's drop by selling nearly 100 billion KRW in the securities market.

As of 10:55 AM, the KOSPI stands at 2,368.97, down 0.58% (13.81 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 and is widening its losses.

Foreign investors have net sold 88.9 billion KRW in the securities market. Institutional investors also showed a slight selling trend, offloading 700 million KRW. Meanwhile, individual investors are countering by purchasing 82.6 billion KRW.

Samsung Electronics, the leading KOSPI stock, is trading at 56,700 KRW, up 0.89% (500 KRW) from the previous day. Samsung Electronics Preferred shares (0.58%) are also on the rise. Other gainers include Samsung SDI (1.66%), LG Chem (1.26%), and Samsung Biologics (1.25%). In contrast, LG Energy Solution is down sharply, trading at 482,000 KRW, a 4.74% (24,000 KRW) drop from the previous day.

Among KOSPI sectors, indices such as Non-metallic Minerals (0.77%) and Textiles & Apparel (0.68%) are rising, while sectors like Transportation & Warehousing (-2.10%), Steel & Metals (-1.88%), and Machinery (-1.27%) are leading the declines.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is at 763.88, down 0.80% (6.16 points) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ opened at 771.52, up 0.19% (1.48 points), but similarly turned downward shortly after the opening and is seeing increasing losses.

Foreign investors are also net sellers in the KOSDAQ market, offloading 88.9 billion KRW. Conversely, individual and institutional investors are buying 76.2 billion KRW and 14.9 billion KRW respectively.

Many of the top market cap stocks on KOSDAQ are also declining. Kakao Games is trading at 45,600 KRW, down 6.17% (3,000 KRW), affected by controversy surrounding its new release 'Uma Musume'. Secondary battery-related stocks such as EcoPro (-3.83%) and L&F (-3.15%) are also down. JYP Entertainment (1.30%) and HLB (0.95%) are showing slight gains.

By sector on KOSDAQ, Publishing & Media Replication (1.85%), Telecommunications Services (1.12%), and Broadcasting & Telecommunications Services (0.92%) are rising. Meanwhile, Paper & Wood (-2.44%), Digital Content (-2.29%), and Metals (-2.17%) are falling by more than 2%.

The securities industry expects a volatile market ahead of this week's U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, driven by cautious sentiment. Ji-young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "As demand slowdown caused by aggressive tightening by the Fed and other central banks has impacted the stock market, the future direction of the economy and stock market will be determined by changes in the intensity of their tightening." She added, "The importance of the September FOMC event is higher than ever, and cautious sentiment in the market will intensify until the event."

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