"Rising Momentum Exhausted"... KOSPI Fluctuates Within Box Range

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The domestic stock market is experiencing slight fluctuations on the 22nd. After starting lower due to renewed concerns about an economic recession caused by China's COVID-19 lockdowns, the market managed to rebound during the session but turned weak again as foreign selling intensified.

As of 10:34 a.m., the KOSPI index was trading at 2,415.69, down 3.11 points (0.16%) from the previous day. The index opened at 2,405.96, down 13.54 points (0.56%) from the previous day, and briefly turned upward in the early session, but the downward trend has continued.

Foreign investors dumped shares early in the session and showed some signs of stabilization during the day, but ahead of the opening of the Chinese stock market, they significantly increased their selling, pulling the index down again. At this time, foreign investors have net sold about 74.5 billion KRW, while individuals and institutions have net bought 67.8 billion KRW and 10.1 billion KRW, respectively.

In the KOSPI market, 380 stocks are rising and 678 are falling, reflecting a cautious market sentiment. Ji Hiyoung, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Since mid-last week, major markets such as Korea and the U.S. are in a phase where the previous upward momentum?driven by falling U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Federal Reserve's pace adjustment, earnings season, and exchange rate declines?is being exhausted. As the market has become accustomed to both positive and negative factors, it is currently showing a box range movement rather than directional bets."

Among the top market capitalization stocks in KOSPI, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and NAVER showed declines early on due to the weakness of Apple in the U.S. market, but currently, all stocks except Samsung Biologics and LG Chem are in a downtrend. In particular, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, NAVER, and Kakao have seen their losses widen to over 1%, and LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI have also turned weak.

Meritz Financial Group announced yesterday that it plans to make Meritz Securities and Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance its wholly owned subsidiaries, and as a result, all three listed companies are trading at their daily limit up from the early session today.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is at 719.28, up 0.71 points (0.10%) today. The index opened down 2.33 points (0.32%) at 716.24 but rebounded. Individuals are expanding their buying with net purchases of about 25.5 billion KRW, while institutions have turned to net selling of about 7.8 billion KRW. Foreigners are net selling about 15 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, most are declining except for Celltrion Healthcare (up 0.46%). In particular, L&F is down more than 3%, and Pearl Abyss, Lino Industrial, and Cheonbo are also down more than 2%. Kakao Games and EcoPro BM are showing slight weakness.

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