Early KOSPI Gains Around 0.3% Driven by Individual Net Buying

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI continues its upward trend, supported by net buying from individual investors.

At 9:15 AM on the 24th, the KOSPI stood at 2446.64, up 0.31% (7.55 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2442.49, up 0.14% (3.40 points) from the previous day, and has maintained its upward momentum.

Looking at investor trends, net buying by individuals is prominent. Individuals alone purchased stocks worth 63 billion KRW, and foreigners bought stocks worth 400 million KRW. Institutions, on the other hand, sold stocks worth 63.4 billion KRW. Considering exchange rate pressures, foreigners' net buying appears to have somewhat slowed. Ji-young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "With the Korean base rate held steady, the interest rate gap between Korea and the U.S. has widened to 1.25 percentage points. If the March FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) raises rates by 25 basis points, the gap will expand to 1.5 percentage points, marking the largest inversion since 2000." She added, "Concerns remain high about the exchange rate stabilizing in the 1300 KRW range and the slowdown in foreign net buying."

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which showed gains influenced by Nvidia's strong earnings the previous day, continued to rise by 0.97% and 0.54%, respectively. Other stocks showing gains included LG Energy Solution (0.59%), LG Chem (0.9%), Samsung SDI (1.17%), Hyundai Motor (0.57%), and Kia (0.65%).

The KOSDAQ index stood at 783.88, up 0.08% (0.61 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 784.94, up 0.21% (1.66 points), and has shown high volatility, fluctuating between declines and gains throughout the session.

In the market, individuals alone purchased stocks worth 90 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 66.5 billion KRW and 18.8 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, EcoPro BM (1.42%), L&F (3.08%), EcoPro (2.89%), Kakao Games (0.42%), and Pearl Abyss (0.76%) rose, while Celltrion Healthcare (-0.54%), HLB (-2.97%), SM Entertainment (-3.25%), JYP Ent. (-1.18%), and Osstem Implant (-2.1%) declined.

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