KOSPI, Foreigners Net Sell for 16 Consecutive Trading Days... Decline Amid Israel-Palestine War

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The KOSPI index fell as foreign investors continued net selling amid the impact of the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

On the 16th, the KOSPI index closed at 2,436.24, down 19.91 points (0.81%) from the previous day. The trading volume was 776.24 million shares, and the trading value was tentatively estimated at 8.2865 trillion KRW.

By investor type, institutions and individuals were net buyers of 6.7 billion KRW and 198.7 billion KRW respectively, while foreign investors were net sellers of 207.5 billion KRW. Foreign investors showed net selling for the 16th consecutive trading day as of this date. Program trading recorded net selling of 4.8 billion KRW in arbitrage trading and 66.6 billion KRW in non-arbitrage trading.

On this day, the KOSPI index declined due to foreign investors' risk-averse sentiment amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas.

By sector, most closed lower. Machinery fell 2.1%, electrical and electronics 1.2%, textiles and apparel, and manufacturing dropped around 1%. Meanwhile, telecommunications rose 0.6%, paper and wood, and food and beverages increased by 0.5%.

Most large-cap stocks showed a downward trend. POSCO Future M fell 3.7% due to selling pressure from foreign and institutional investors. LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and LG Energy Solution recorded declines of over 2%. Major stocks such as Samsung Electronics, NAVER, Hyundai Mobis, SK, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and Meritz Financial Group also closed weaker. On the other hand, KT&G rose 2.3%, and SK Innovation increased 1.2%. Celltrion, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, LG, Hana Financial Group, and SK Telecom also closed strong.

By individual stocks, LS Group shares showed strength. Positive news included LS Cable & System Asia signing a memorandum of understanding for subsea cable business cooperation with PTSC, a subsidiary of PetroVietnam, and LS Cable & System winning a high-voltage cable project worth 113 billion KRW from the Singapore Power Authority.

The KOSDAQ index also closed lower on the day. The KOSDAQ index ended at 810.54, down 1.49% from the previous day. By investor type, individuals and institutions were net buyers of 88.5 billion KRW and 60.2 billion KRW respectively, while foreign investors were net sellers of 140.3 billion KRW.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks showed a downward trend. Rainbow Robotics fell 5.2%, Dongjin Semichem 3.7%, Wonik IPS and EO Technics 3.4%, and HPSP 3.1%. Meanwhile, Classys rose 1.3%, HLB 1.1%, and Solbrain increased by 1%. EcoPro, Celltrion Healthcare, Hugel, and Padu also closed strong.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the KRW/USD exchange rate closed at 1,353.7 won, up 3.7 won from the previous day.

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