KOSPI Falls 1.9%... KOSDAQ Plummets Over 3%, Breaking Below 800 Level

On the 19th, the domestic stock market closed lower due to international geopolitical instability and the rise in U.S. Treasury yields.

On that day, the KOSPI index closed at 2,415.80, down 46.80 points (1.9%) from the previous session. Institutional and foreign investors sold a net 248.2 billion KRW and 155.4 billion KRW respectively, while individual investors bought a net 389.3 billion KRW.

On the 19th, the KOSPI index closed at 2,415.80, down 46.80 points (1.90%) from the previous trading day, as dealers were working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. On the same day, the KOSDAQ fell 24.85 points to 784.04, and the won-dollar exchange rate rose 7.8 won to close at 1,357.4 won. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Among the top market capitalization groups in the KOSPI market, secondary battery-related stocks such as POSCO Holdings (-4.60%), Samsung SDI (-3.52%), and LG Chem (-2.37%) all closed lower. Samsung Electronics closed at 69,500 KRW, down 1.42% from the previous session, falling below the 70,000 KRW mark. SK Hynix also closed down 3.31%.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The worsening Middle East conflict and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield threatening 5% again, along with the possibility of further rate hikes despite the central bank's rate freeze, acted as factors dampening investor sentiment, causing sharp declines in KOSPI and KOSDAQ." He added, "Asian markets including Japan, China, and Hong Kong also saw increased downward pressure." He further noted, "With no sectors showing gains, the decline in secondary battery stocks widened due to Tesla's poor earnings."

The KOSDAQ index closed at 784.04, down 24.85 points (3.07%) from the previous session. Institutional and foreign investors sold a net 102.9 billion KRW and 79.2 billion KRW respectively, while individual investors bought a net 182.8 billion KRW.

Most of the top market capitalization groups in KOSDAQ also ended the day lower. Entertainment-related stocks such as JYP Ent. (-5.75%) and SM (-4.47%) saw large declines. HLB (-4.06%), EcoPro BM (-4.01%), and Alteogen (-3.79%) also underperformed.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,357.4 KRW, up 7.8 KRW.

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