KOSPI Starts Down Over 1%... KOSDAQ Falls Below 800 Mark

On the morning of the 19th, the KOSPI index started with a decline of over 1%. The KOSDAQ index also fell, breaking below the 800 mark.

As of 9:05 AM that day, the KOSPI index stood at 2,425.33, down 37.27 points (1.51%) from the previous session. Individual investors were net buyers with 39.8 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers with 32.7 billion KRW and 7 billion KRW respectively.

Following a significant decline in the US stock market due to the Middle East crisis, the domestic stock market also opened sharply lower. Employees are working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Myeongdong, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

Most of the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI market started weak. Battery-related stocks such as Samsung SDI (-3.22%), POSCO Holdings (-3.10%), and LG Chem (-2.87%) experienced significant early declines. Samsung Electronics traded at 69,700 KRW, down 1.13% from the previous session, falling below 70,000 KRW again. SK Hynix also started down 1.85%.

In addition to geopolitical tensions from the Middle East, attention is expected to focus on the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Committee’s base interest rate announcement scheduled for that day. The market largely expects the rate to remain unchanged.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Noise is continuously entering the stock market environment. Since the third-quarter earnings season is underway, it is necessary to respond based on earnings." She added, "From an industry perspective, it is important to pay attention to price changes in growth stocks such as secondary batteries, content, and platforms. As this is a period sensitive to central bank policies, the early announcement of the Monetary Policy Committee’s results will also be a key point to watch."

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 792.42, down 16.47 points (2.04%) from the previous session. It fell below the 800 mark again after 7 trading days since the 10th. Individual investors were net buyers with 46.4 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers with 8.9 billion KRW and 36.8 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ, most were down except for Celltrion Healthcare (0.31%). JYP Ent. showed a 3.61% decline early in the session, and battery-related stocks such as L&F (-3.14%) and EcoPro BM (-3.01%) also started lower.

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