KOSPI Closes Below 2560 Amid Institutional 'Selling'... Semiconductor Stocks Stand Out with Strength

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On the 25th, the KOSPI index, which started with a slight rise, closed lower due to institutional selling amid difficulties in debt ceiling negotiations. However, semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix showed strength, influenced by Nvidia's sharp after-hours surge in the New York stock market the previous day, reaching intraday levels of '70,000 Electronics' and '100,000 Hynix,' respectively.

On this day, the KOSPI index closed at 2,554.69, down 0.50% (12.76 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2,570.64, up 0.12% (3.19 points) from the previous close, rose to 2,575.05 in early trading, but lost momentum and closed below the 2,560 level.

By investor type, institutions led the decline by net selling stocks worth 589.2 billion KRW. In contrast, individuals and foreigners were net buyers, purchasing stocks worth 376.8 billion KRW and 205.6 billion KRW, respectively.

The U.S. White House debt ceiling negotiation team and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met again on the morning of the 24th (local time) to continue talks, but no agreement has been announced yet.

Additionally, the minutes from the May FOMC meeting released by the U.S. Federal Reserve stirred investor anxiety.

The minutes revealed a split among members between those advocating for further interest rate hikes and those favoring a pause.

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, explained, "Since the U.S. Treasury's anticipated default date (June 1) is just a week away, the difficulties negatively affected investor sentiment," adding, "The market was generally trying to shake off risks while closely watching the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations."

Among the top 10 KOSPI stocks by market capitalization, semiconductor-related stocks such as Samsung Electronics (0.44%), SK Hynix (5.94%), and Samsung Electronics Preferred (0.17%) stood out with strong performance. This was interpreted as a positive impact on domestic semiconductor stocks following Nvidia's after-hours trading surge of up to 28%, driven by forecasts that its Q2 revenue would exceed market expectations by more than 50% in the New York stock market the previous day.

However, excluding semiconductor stocks, most of the top market cap stocks such as LG Energy Solution (-0.34%), Samsung Biologics (-1.64%), LG Chem (-1.11%), Samsung SDI (-1.96%), Hyundai Motor (-1.93%), and Kia (-2.24%) closed lower.

By sector, all sectors except electrical and electronics (0.50%) recorded declines. These included medical precision (-2.17%), pharmaceuticals (-1.94%), transportation equipment (-1.80%), transportation and warehousing (-1.59%), steel and metals (-1.57%), construction (-1.31%), distribution (-1.25%), and textiles and apparel (-1.25%).

The KOSDAQ index closed at 847.72, down 0.90% (7.74 points) from the previous session.

By investor type, individuals were the sole net buyers with 204.4 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 117.0 billion KRW and 87.7 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, all stocks except Pearl Abyss (4.00%) declined. These included EcoPro BM (-1.02%), EcoPro (-3.53%), Celltrion Healthcare (-2.77%), L&F (-3.06%), HLB (-2.33%), JYP Ent. (-1.06%), Celltrion Pharm (-2.16%), Kakao Games (-0.39%), and Osstem Implant (-0.05%).

By sector, publishing and reproduction (1.13%), software (0.66%), and digital content (0.63%) closed higher, while finance (-2.58%), transportation (-2.32%), entertainment and culture (-1.64%), distribution (-1.56%), other services (-1.43%), and pharmaceuticals (-1.42%) closed lower.

On this day, the trading value on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets was recorded at 9.32 trillion KRW and 7.72 trillion KRW, respectively.

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