Foreign Selling Drives KOSPI Down Over 1%, Falls Below 2360... Samsung Electronics Turns to Decline

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] On the afternoon of the 19th, the KOSPI extended its decline to over 1%, falling below the 2360 level. This appears to be due to increased selling by foreign investors. The KOSDAQ index is also down nearly 2%.

As of 1:51 PM on the same day, the KOSPI stood at 2356.19, down 1.12% (26.59 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2388.73, up 0.25% (5.95 points) from the previous day, but soon turned downward and the decline accelerated in the afternoon session.

In the securities market, foreign investors led the index decline by selling 114.4 billion KRW worth of stocks alone. Individuals and institutions bought 97.4 billion KRW and 5.7 billion KRW worth of stocks, respectively.

Samsung Electronics, which showed a rise of over 1% in the early session, turned to a decline. At the same time, Samsung Electronics was trading at 56,100 KRW, down 0.18% (100 KRW) from the previous day. LG Energy Solution was trading at 481,000 KRW, down 4.94% (25,000 KRW) from the previous day. SK Hynix (-1.21%) and NAVER (-0.91%) were also down. Samsung SDI stood out with an increase, trading at 608,000 KRW, up 1.00% (6,000 KRW) from the previous day.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was at 755.12, down 1.94% (14.92 points) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ index opened at 771.52, up 0.19% (1.48 points) from the previous day, but similarly turned downward shortly after the opening and the decline gradually deepened.

Foreign investors also sold 106.9 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market. Individuals and institutions bought 121.8 billion KRW and 2.9 billion KRW worth of stocks, respectively, countering the selling pressure.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ were also in decline. Secondary battery stocks such as EcoPro (-5.39%) and L&F (-4.68%) widened their losses compared to the morning session. Kakao Games was trading at 45,600 KRW, down 6.17% (3,000 KRW) from the previous day, affected by controversy surrounding the mobile game 'Uma Musume'.

The market decline on this day appears to be a combined effect of caution ahead of the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and the rise in the won-dollar exchange rate. Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, analyzed, "The KOSPI maintained the 2370-2380 range in the morning session due to strength in large semiconductor stocks, but the decline widened during the session due to the rise in the won-dollar exchange rate and a reversal in U.S. after-hours futures. With caution ahead of the September FOMC, concerns about intensified U.S.-China conflicts resurfaced due to President Biden's remarks related to China, acting as a negative factor for investor sentiment."

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