KOSPI Ends Slightly Lower... KOSDAQ Rises 1.16% on 'Secondary Battery Strength'

On the 3rd, the KOSPI index closed slightly lower, while the KOSDAQ rose by more than 1%.

On that day, the KOSPI index closed at 2,605.39, down 11.08 points (0.42%) from the previous trading day. Individual investors net bought 811.5 billion KRW, but foreigners and institutions sold 156.1 billion KRW and 670.2 billion KRW respectively.

Earlier, the KOSPI showed mixed movements after the market opened, repeatedly fluctuating, and during the session, it fell below the 2,600 level, dropping as low as 2,591.30. It slightly rebounded in the afternoon, but it was not enough to reverse the downward trend.

Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization on the Korea Exchange, Samsung Electronics closed at 68,800 KRW, down 1.57%. Samsung SDI (-1.69%) and Hyundai Motor (-0.42%) also underperformed. On the other hand, Samsung Biologics (2.28%) and POSCO Holdings (1.20%) closed higher.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "The U.S. stock market turned downward due to the impact of credit rating downgrades, mainly affecting tech stocks, and the downward pressure expanded due to foreign investors’ selling in both spot and futures markets, causing the KOSPI to turn lower. The preference for safe-haven assets strengthened, and the KRW-USD exchange rate also rose, exceeding 1,300 KRW during the session."

On the same day, the KOSDAQ index closed at 920.32, up 10.56 points (1.16%) from the previous trading day, supported by gains in secondary battery stocks. The KOSDAQ index also sharply declined below the 900 level early in the session but rebounded strongly in the afternoon. Individuals and foreigners net sold 26.6 billion KRW and 67.7 billion KRW respectively, while institutions net bought 59 billion KRW.

In the KOSDAQ market, the so-called "Ecopro brothers" closed higher together. Ecopro BM rose sharply by 2.50%, and Ecopro surged 7.96%. Other stocks such as Celltrion Healthcare (5.41%), POSCO DX (2.87%), HLB (3.08%), and Celltrion Pharm (4.42%) also closed higher. Recently, due to the resurgence of COVID-19, pharmaceutical-related stocks including masks, diagnostic kits, and vaccines showed strength.

On the other hand, JYP Ent. (-4.27%), SM (-2.57%), and Pearl Abyss (-2.54%) closed lower.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the KRW-USD exchange rate closed at 1,299.1 KRW, up 0.6 KRW.

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