KOSPI Surpasses 2500... Semiconductor and Battery Stocks Rally

Foreign and Institutional Dual Buying
POSCO Holdings Surges Nearly 8%
KOSDAQ Turns Down
KOSDAQ Ecopro Trio Shows Strength

The KOSPI and KOSDAQ opened higher. In particular, the KOSPI surpassed the 2500 mark for the first time in about four months. The semiconductor and battery sectors are driving the index. On the other hand, the KOSDAQ failed to maintain its upward momentum and turned downward.

As of 9:14 a.m. on the 10th, the KOSPI is at 2504.18, up 0.55% (13.77 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI started the day at 2491.68, up 0.05% (1.27 points), showing a steady upward trend.

The KOSPI breaking through the 2500 level is the first time since December 1 of last year (2501.43), marking four months and ten days. Currently, foreigners and individuals are net buyers of 63.2 billion KRW and 31.3 billion KRW respectively. Conversely, institutions are net sellers of 85.8 billion KRW. In the futures market, only individuals are net sellers, while foreigners and institutions are net buyers of 15.2 billion KRW and 4.5 billion KRW respectively.

Semiconductors and batteries are propelling the KOSPI. Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, only NAVER (-0.78%) is in decline. Samsung Electronics +0.92%, LG Energy Solution +2.07%, SK Hynix +1.35%, Samsung Biologics +0.38%, LG Chem +2.80%, and Samsung SDI +0.9% are all rising.

In particular, POSCO Holdings is surging 7.98%. The stock price is being driven up by expectations of the lithium business ramping up and improved performance of its steel subsidiaries.

POSCO purchased mining rights for the Hombre Muerto salt lake in Argentina from Australia's Galaxy Resources in 2018 for 280 million USD. With the implementation of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), subsidies are provided if secondary batteries are produced in the U.S. or countries that have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S.

Park Seong-bong, a researcher at Hana Securities, said, "Global steel prices have turned strong due to expectations of China's economic recovery and aggressive price hikes reflecting rising raw material costs," adding, "We expect performance improvements as we move into the second half of the year."

As of 9:27 a.m., the KOSDAQ is at 879.14, down 0.11% (0.93 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ started at 882.75, up 0.30% (2.68 points), but soon turned downward.

Supply and demand are pulling the index down. Foreigners and institutions are net sellers of 197.2 billion KRW and 77.3 billion KRW respectively. Although individuals are buying 281.8 billion KRW alone, they are unable to prevent the index from falling.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, only the battery sector is on the rise. Ecopro BM +6.21%, Ecopro +15.89%, L&F +2.69%, and Chunbo +5.03% are the only ones increasing.

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