KOSPI Decline Narrows Amid Eased CS Concerns

Foreign and Institutional Investors 'Sell', Individuals 'Buy'
Semiconductor Stocks Rise on System Semiconductor Investment Plans

The KOSPI fell slightly more than expected. Although the index dropped more than 1% early in the session due to the shock of Credit Suisse (CS) bankruptcy, concerns appear to have somewhat eased.

On the 16th, the KOSPI index closed at 2377.91, down 1.81 points (0.08%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2357.98, up 21.74 points (0.91%) from the previous day. In the securities market, foreigners and institutions net sold 85.6 billion KRW and 6.4 billion KRW respectively. Individuals had a net buying advantage of 72.2 billion KRW.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The US stock market fell mainly in financial stocks due to concerns over CS bankruptcy the previous day, which also weighed on the domestic market, causing both KOSPI and KOSDAQ to start down by about 1%. However, the Swiss government's announcement of support up to 50 billion Swiss francs (about 70 trillion KRW) reduced concerns and partially recovered the losses."

Among the top market cap stocks, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, and Kia slightly declined. On the other hand, LG Energy Solution, Samsung Biologics, and LG Chem showed gains of over 1%. Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, and Naver also closed with slight increases.

The KOSDAQ index closed at 781.98, up 0.81 points (0.1%) from the previous session. The index recorded 780.53, down 0.64 points (0.08%) from the previous day. In the KOSDAQ market, individuals net bought 467.8 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions net sold 328.2 billion KRW and 135.2 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market cap stocks, L&F closed with gains exceeding 5%. Ecopro BM and Celltrion Pharm also saw their stock prices rise. Conversely, Ecopro, HLB, Kakao Games, and SM closed lower.

Following Samsung Electronics' investment news, semiconductor and robotics-related stocks showed strength in the KOSDAQ market. The news of Samsung Electronics' additional equity investment in a robotics company expanded expectations for entry into the robotics business. The government's announcement of a 300 trillion KRW investment plan in the system semiconductor industry also acted as a positive factor.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1313 won, up 9.3 won from the previous trading day.

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