KOSPI Fluctuates Awaiting November FOMC... KOSDAQ Declines

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Ahead of the November Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting, the KOSPI index is showing a slight upward trend.

As of 11:17 AM on the 2nd, the KOSPI index was recorded at 2,337.98, up 2.76 points (0.12%) compared to the previous trading day. The index, which started the day lower, turned upward due to buying pressure from individuals and foreigners and has since fluctuated. Individuals and foreigners recorded net buying advantages of approximately 34.4 billion KRW and 169.2 billion KRW respectively, while institutions net sold about 215.2 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, NAVER rose 2.35%, showing the largest gain. This was followed by LG Energy Solution (1.60%), SK Hynix (1.19%), and Celltrion (0.81%). On this day, SK Hynix rose from 4th to 3rd place in market capitalization for the first time in four trading days since the 28th of last month. Conversely, Samsung SDI (-4.08%), LG Chem (-3.31%), Samsung Biologics (-1.47%), Hyundai Motor (-0.91%), Kia (-0.75%), and Samsung Electronics (-0.50%) showed weakness.

By sector, Medical Precision (1.96%), Services (1.84%), Steel & Metals (1.30%), and Finance & Insurance (0.53%) rose. Meanwhile, Machinery (-3.22%), Electric & Gas (-1.49%), Non-metallic Minerals (-1.34%), and Construction (-0.89%) declined.

Seo Sang-young, Head of Media Content at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "Ahead of the FOMC, expectations for a slowdown in the pace of tightening led to a successful shift to an upward trend."

The US stock market also started up about 1% the previous day due to expectations of a slowdown in the Fed's interest rate hikes. However, despite concerns about economic slowdown, the US dollar strengthened as the number of job openings in the US increased in September, leading to a reversal to a decline. According to the September Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), the number of job openings at US companies was 10.7 million, up from 10.3 million the previous month. This exceeded experts' forecast of 9.8 million.

On the 1st (local time), the S&P 500 index, focused on large-cap stocks, closed at 3,856.10, down 15.88 points (0.41%), the Nasdaq index, focused on technology stocks, closed at 10,890.85, down 97.30 points (0.89%), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.75 points (0.24%) to 32,653.20.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was weak. It was recorded at 697.22, down 2.83 points (0.40%) from the previous day. Individuals bought about 189.6 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions net sold about 109.1 billion KRW and 85.6 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Pearl Abyss rose 3.12%, Celltrion Pharm 0.90%, and Celltrion Healthcare 0.88%. On the other hand, L&F fell more than 4%. EcoPro and EcoPro BM also dropped more than 3%.

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