KOSPI Settles Above 2600 Amid Large Institutional Buying... Strong Performance in Secondary Batteries and Semiconductors

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On July 3, the first trading day of the month, the KOSPI index recovered above the 2600 level, supported by heavy buying from institutional investors. Notably, the strong performance of Tesla boosted the rally in secondary battery stocks.

On that day, the KOSPI index closed at 2602.47, up 1.49% (38.19 points) from the previous session. This marked the first time in nine trading days since June 20 (2604.91) that the KOSPI closed above the 2600 mark.

The KOSPI opened at 2580.89, up 0.65% (16.61 points) from the previous close, and climbed to an intraday high of 2604.63. Although it briefly dipped back to the 2590 range, it successfully settled above 2600 by the end of the session.

The rise in the KOSPI was driven by institutional investors, who net purchased stocks worth 769.4 billion KRW. In contrast, individual and foreign investors sold stocks worth 748.5 billion KRW and 23.8 billion KRW, respectively.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the USD/KRW exchange rate closed at 1308.0 KRW, down 9.7 KRW from the previous session’s close. This was influenced by the June trade surplus announced over the weekend and a recovery in risk appetite following gains in the New York stock market.

Among the top 10 KOSPI stocks by market capitalization, secondary battery-related stocks such as LG Energy Solution (3.62%), Samsung SDI (7.17%), and LG Chem (3.60%) showed strong gains, with all but Samsung Biologics (-0.13%) closing higher. The surge in Tesla’s second-quarter deliveries fueled investor sentiment. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also rose more than 1%, boosting semiconductor stocks like Samsung Electronics (1.11%), SK Hynix (2.08%), and Samsung Electronics Preferred (0.84%). Additionally, within the top 10 by market cap, Hyundai Motor (0.97%) and POSCO Holdings (3.61%) also closed higher, while Kia ended flat (0.00%).

By sector, Medical Precision (3.28%), Steel & Metals (2.28%), Electrical & Electronics (2.06%), Chemicals (2.04%), Food & Beverage (1.98%), Services (1.75%), Construction (1.72%), and Manufacturing (1.60%) closed higher, whereas Textiles & Apparel (-1.41%), Pharmaceuticals (-0.21%), and Telecommunications (-0.20%) ended lower.

The KOSDAQ index closed at 889.29, up 2.42% (21.05 points) from the previous session. It opened at 873.91, up 0.65% (5.67 points).

In the KOSDAQ market, foreign and institutional investors net purchased stocks worth 472 billion KRW and 109.1 billion KRW, respectively, while individual investors net sold stocks worth 549.8 billion KRW.

Among the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, secondary battery-related stocks stood out with strong gains, including EcoPro BM (5.82%), EcoPro (20.42%), and L&F (2.67%). Meanwhile, Celltrion Healthcare (-1.53%), JYP Ent. (-0.38%), HLB (-0.15%), and Celltrion Pharm (-1.57%) closed lower.

By sector, all sectors except Pharmaceuticals (-1.01%) closed higher, including Finance (15.43%), General Electrical & Electronics (4.03%), Machinery & Equipment (2.52%), Food & Tobacco (2.45%), Semiconductors (2.44%), and Metals (2.43%).

During the day, the trading value on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets totaled 8.8663 trillion KRW and 10.4265 trillion KRW, respectively.

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