"KOSPI Struggles to Stay Above 2500... Closes Lower Amid Institutional Net Selling"

KOSPI Falls After Battle Around 2480 Level During Trading Session

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI closed lower as a large volume of profit-taking sell orders emerged. On the 14th, the KOSPI briefly surged close to the 2500 mark in early trading but soon trimmed its gains and ended the session in a downtrend.

On the day, the KOSPI closed at 2474.65, down 0.34% (8.51 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2485.18, up 0.08% (2.02 points) from the previous day, but showed a sharp decline in the afternoon.

Although individual investors increased their net buying towards the end of the session, institutions expanded their net selling, leading to a decline at the close. Looking at investor trends, individuals and foreigners bought stocks worth 15.6 billion KRW and 148.6 billion KRW respectively, while institutions alone sold stocks worth 170.8 billion KRW.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, “Profit-taking emerged on the gains led by the won’s strength and large-cap stocks such as semiconductors, along with dollar-strength sell orders following hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve officials.” He added, “By sector, expectations for the easing of China’s zero-COVID policy and rising prices of raw materials including international oil led to strength across non-ferrous metals and steel sectors.”

By sector, non-metallic minerals rose 4.38%, steel and metals 2.54%, machinery 2.10%, and electric and gas utilities 1.83%. By stock, POSCO Chemical (5.4%), Hanil Cement (4.6%), Asia Cement (3.5%), and Sungshin Cement (3.1%) showed significant gains.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics (-1.59%) and SK Hynix (-2.78%) declined. LG Energy Solution (-2.21%), LG Chem (-1.49%), and NAVER (-2.58%) also fell. Meanwhile, Samsung Biologics (0.11%), Samsung SDI (1.61%), Hyundai Motor (2.33%), and Kia (2.79%) closed higher.

The KOSDAQ index closed at 729.54, down 0.23% (1.68 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ started the day up 0.15% but fluctuated between gains and losses before widening its decline in the afternoon.

Investor trends showed that individuals alone bought stocks worth 192.5 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 23.5 billion KRW and 152.4 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, EcoPro BM (4.61%), HLB (0.9%), EcoPro (1.35%), Pearl Abyss (0.12%), and Chunbo (2.29%) rose, while Celltrion Healthcare (-5.61%), L&F (-1.12%), Kakao Games (-4.39%), Celltrion Pharm (-2.38%), and Rino Industries (-1.49%) declined.

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