UK Financial Instability Stabilizes and Energy Crisis Outlook Improves... Afternoon Stock Market Rises Again by Over 1%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices are showing a renewed strength with over 1% gains on the afternoon of the 18th. The easing of financial instability in the UK and the resulting pound sterling strength (dollar weakness) appear to have boosted investor sentiment.

As of 2:07 PM, the KOSPI stands at 2242.88, up 1.04% from the previous day. The index is being driven solely by institutional investors.

Institutions bought stocks worth 71.6 billion KRW in the morning and are currently net buyers with 132.1 billion KRW. Conversely, individual investors, who had been net buyers, are now net sellers along with foreigners, offloading 69.2 billion KRW and 72.7 billion KRW respectively. Foreigners are also selling futures worth 289 billion KRW in the afternoon session.

Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, all are rising except LG Energy Solution (-1.42%), Samsung Electronics (-0.53%), and Samsung SDI (-0.17%). LG Chem continues to lead with a 4.52% increase. Following are Celltrion at 3.54%, Naver at 3.29%, and Samsung Biologics at 1.45%.

As of 2:13 PM, the KOSDAQ index is at 693.89, up 1.73% from the previous day. Foreigners and institutions are net sellers of 87.6 billion KRW and 1.3 billion KRW respectively, though institutional selling has decreased. Individual investors are net buyers with 76.3 billion KRW.

Among the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, all are rising except EcoPro BM (-3.94%) and JYP Entertainment (-1.22%). Kakao Games leads with a 4.41% gain, followed by HLB at 4.36%, Celltrion Healthcare at 4.27%, Celltrion Pharm at 3.15%, and Pearl Abyss at 2.63%.

Seo Sang-young, Head of Media Content at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "After UK Prime Minister Liz Truss apologized and mentioned corresponding responsibility in the morning, UK instability eased, leading to gains in US after-hours futures. Meanwhile, positive developments in Europe, such as the French president’s claim that the energy crisis will improve before November, have contributed to the pound sterling strengthening against the dollar."

He added, "It is necessary to continuously monitor whether the dollar weakness (pound sterling strength) will expand in the afternoon, as this could further increase index gains. Reports that the Bank of England (BOE) will continue bond purchases until the pension fund market stabilizes have also had a positive impact."

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