'Pigeon Powell Effect'... KOSPI Closes Up 1.3%

Foreigners Turn Net Buyers on KOSPI After 3 Trading Days... 500 Billion KRW
Notable Rise in AI-Related Large Internet Stocks, Semiconductors, and Securities Shares

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Thanks to Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, who reinforced disinflation, the KOSPI ended the session with a gain of over 1%. In particular, foreign investors played a key role in driving the index higher by switching to net buying.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 8th, the KOSPI closed at 2,483.64, up 1.3% (31.93 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI started the day at 2,469.42, up 0.72% (17.71 points) from the previous day, and ended the session on an upward trend.

The KOSPI showed a significant rise, supported by foreign buying. Foreign investors purchased stocks worth 578.8 billion KRW in the KOSPI market. Institutions also net bought stocks worth 3.3 billion KRW, while individuals sold stocks worth 562.6 billion KRW alone. Seokhwan Kim, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, “The previous day’s U.S. stock market closed higher on relief from Powell’s hawkish stance on interest rate hikes and his mention of ‘disinflation,’ which positively influenced the domestic stock market. Foreign investors switched to net buying after three trading days, contributing to the index’s rise.”

By sector, as the global artificial intelligence (AI) industry attracted attention, NAVER (5.01%) and Kakao (1.62%) showed gains in the domestic market. Additionally, influenced by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising more than 3% the previous day, semiconductor leaders Samsung Electronics (1.94%) and SK Hynix (4.52%) also posted gains.

The rise in securities stocks was also notable. Mirae Asset Securities (6.5%), Samsung Securities (3.5%), Hanwha Investment & Securities (3.4%), Kiwoom Securities (3.0%), and NH Investment & Securities (2.9%) saw significant increases. Researcher Kim said, “This reflects the strong initial public offering (IPO) market, rising stock values of listed companies, and expectations for a recovery in investment sentiment. It also reflects the outlook that the securities industry’s revenue structure can diversify following the government’s approval of token securities issuance and distribution (STO).”

On the same day, the KOSDAQ index also ended the session at 779.98, up 0.93% (7.19 points) from the previous trading day. In the market, foreign and institutional investors bought stocks worth 37.2 billion KRW and 27.4 billion KRW respectively, while individuals alone net sold stocks worth 36.3 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Ecopro BM (0.16%), Celltrion Healthcare (0.84%), Ecopro (4.16%), Pearl Abyss (2.90%), Osstem Implant (0.16%), L&F (0.41%), and JYP Ent. (1.11%) rose, while L&F (-0.45%), Kakao Games (-0.63%), and HLB (-0.48%) declined.

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