Foreigners and Institutions Picking Up 1 Trillion Won Dropped by Individuals... KOSPI Refreshes Amid Dollar Pause

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] On the 27th, the domestic stock market, which started higher, maintained its gains into the afternoon and successfully closed with a refreshing gain approaching 2% for the first time in a while. The end of the rally in the U.S. stock market did not have much impact on investor sentiment in the domestic market. Rather, the easing concerns over Federal Reserve (Fed) tightening were perceived as a positive factor, reducing pressure and strengthening the upward momentum. Additionally, as the dollar, which had been rising continuously, took a breather, foreign investors’ net buying expanded, leading the rise. The KOSPI recovered to the 2280 level, and the KOSDAQ also showed a flow approaching the 700 level. Only individual investors sold shares, but these were all absorbed by foreigners and institutions.

On this day, the KOSPI closed at 2288.78, up 39.22 points (1.74%) from the previous trading day. The main drivers of the index’s rise were foreign investors and institutions. In particular, foreign investors purchased 383.8 billion KRW, continuing their net buying streak for five consecutive trading days. The won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1417.0 KRW, down 9.60 KRW from the previous day, showing signs of easing dollar strength and creating a favorable supply-demand environment. Institutional demand was also notable, with purchases totaling 514.3 billion KRW. On the other hand, individual investors sold 904.4 billion KRW, continuing their five-day consecutive selling streak.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "China and Japan actively intervened to defend their currencies, which expanded the dollar’s weakness and increased foreign buying demand."

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "The KOSPI rose due to the combined net buying by foreign investors and institutions," adding, "Despite negative news related to U.S. big tech earnings, expectations for a slowdown in interest rate hikes positively influenced investor sentiment." The inversion phenomenon, where the 3-month U.S. Treasury yield is higher than the 10-year yield, has increased recession concerns, leading to expectations that the Fed will slow the pace of rate hikes, which is viewed positively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI, Samsung Electronics closed at 59,500 KRW, up 100 KRW (0.17%) from the previous day. During the session, it briefly surpassed 60,000 KRW following news of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s promotion to chairman. LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI rose 2.08% and 7.39%, respectively, buoyed by relief over earnings and growing expectations for secondary battery stocks. Conversely, SK Hynix fell 4.15% due to disappointing third-quarter results and a forecast of a loss in the fourth quarter.

The KOSDAQ closed at 695.09, up 11.92 points (1.74%) from the previous day. In the KOSDAQ market as well, individuals sold 169.1 billion KRW, but institutions and foreigners net bought 53.2 billion KRW and 115 billion KRW, respectively. Foreigners have been net buyers for five consecutive trading days, while individuals have been net sellers for five consecutive days. Among the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSDAQ, EcoPro BM (7.36%), L&F (3.37%), and Pearl Abyss (2.98%) showed notable gains. In contrast, Lino Industrial was the only one among the top 10 market capitalization stocks to close lower.

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