KOSPI Starts Slightly Lower... Foreigners and Institutions Both 'Selling'

On the 8th, the KOSPI index started off slightly down.

As of 9:05 a.m. that day, the KOSPI index stood at 2,612.75, down 3.72 points (0.14%) from the previous trading day. After a slight rise immediately after the opening, the KOSPI index quickly turned downward and has been fluctuating around the previous day's closing price. Individual investors net bought 71.1 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions net sold 67.4 billion KRW and 3.4 billion KRW respectively.

The top market capitalization stocks on the Korea Exchange showed mixed price directions. Samsung Electronics (0.29%), Samsung Biologics (1.52%), and Hyundai Motor (0.16%) were on the rise. On the other hand, LG Energy Solution (-0.74%), SK Hynix (-0.08%), POSCO Holdings (-0.85%), and Samsung SDI (-1.38%) were declining.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Due to the U.S. stock market's sharp drop centered on high-valuation growth stocks following Fitch's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, and Qualcomm's after-hours stock price decline of around 6% due to disappointing guidance, the market is expected to start lower. However, considering that the domestic market partially priced this in yesterday, the shock from today's sharp price drop is expected to be limited." She added regarding the superconductivity-themed stocks, which have recently attracted rapid investor interest, "Since the theme still has an unclear substance, it is necessary to be cautious about the increased price volatility of superconductivity-themed stocks."

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 905.19, down 4.57 points (0.50%) from the previous trading day. Individual investors net bought 50.8 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions net sold 46.3 billion KRW and 19.7 billion KRW respectively.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks on the KOSDAQ also showed a roughly 1% range of sideways movement. Ecopro BM (-0.13%) and JYP Ent. (-0.63%) were declining. Ecopro (0.89%), Celltrion Healthcare (0.15%), and L&F (0.41%) were rising. POSCO DX was weak, falling 3.33% early in the session.

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