'Tesla Sudden Reversal'... KOSPI Falls Over 2%

KOSPI Falls to 2280 Level
Foreigners and Institutions 'Sell'
KOSDAQ Drops Over 1%

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] On the 28th, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ started off with a sharp decline. This was influenced by the drop in the Nasdaq following the plunge of Tesla and the overall weakening of investor sentiment in the electric vehicle sector in the US stock market the previous day. In the domestic market, foreign and institutional investors are selling heavily, causing weakness in the automobile and secondary battery sectors.

As of 9:43 AM, the KOSPI is trading at 2,285.25, down 2.04% (47.54 points) from the previous day. It opened at 2,296.45, down 1.56% (36.34 points) from the previous day, and the decline is widening.

Market liquidity is weak. Foreigners and institutions are net selling 255.3 billion KRW and 327 billion KRW respectively. Individual investors alone are net buying 570.2 billion KRW. In the futures market, foreigners initially bought 117.1 billion KRW at the opening but the scale has reduced to 35.9 billion KRW currently. Institutions are selling 53.1 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, only Samsung Biologics (+0.12%) and POSCO Holdings (+0.34%) are showing gains. Kia has the largest decline at -4.06%. Following are LG Chem -3.98%, LG Energy Solution -2.74%, Samsung SDI -1.28%, Hyundai Motor -1.27%, and Naver -1.10%. Samsung Electronics, the largest by market cap, is down 2.41%, trading at 56,700 KRW.

Following the 'Tesla shock' in the US stock market the previous day, the decline rate of automobile stocks is prominent in the domestic market as well. Reuters and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Tesla’s Shanghai plant will halt production from the 24th of last month until January 1st next year due to COVID-19 infections and other reasons. The nine-day production halt is considered unusual. This sparked concerns over a sharp drop in demand, leading to an 11.41% plunge.

As of 9:44 AM, the KOSDAQ is at 696.38, down 1.11% (7.81 points) from the previous day. It also opened lower at 699.24, down 0.70% (4.95 points), and the decline is expanding.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions are selling 113.4 billion KRW and 117.3 billion KRW respectively, pulling the index down. Individual investors alone are net buying 231.7 billion KRW.

All of the top market capitalization stocks are in decline. Notable drops include Pearl Abyss -4.62%, Celltrion Pharm -4.35%, L&F -3.94%, Rino Industrial -3.72%, and Kakao Games -2.89%.

Weakness in the secondary battery sector is also noticeable in the KOSDAQ market. EcoPro -2.42%, EcoPro BM -1.84%, and Cheonbo -3.20% are also declining.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,271.5 KRW, up 0.1 KRW from the previous trading day’s closing price of 1,271.4 KRW.

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