Foreigners and Institutions Jointly 'Selling' Causes KOSPI to Drop 1.5%... Falls Below 2400 Mark

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The KOSPI index is down about 1.5% as foreign investors and institutions continue to sell.

As of 9:30 a.m. on the 20th, the KOSPI index was trading at 2,379.01, down 36.79 points (1.52%) from the previous close. The index opened at 2,391.54, down 24.26 points (1.00%), breaking below the 2,400 level for the first time in over seven months. It then widened its losses, falling as low as 2,374.90. Individual investors were the sole net buyers with purchases worth approximately 43.5 billion KRW, while foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of about 37.5 billion KRW and 1.4 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung SDI (-3.04%), LG Chem (-2.02%), and Kia (-1.90%) declined in that order.

By sector, textiles and apparel (-3.02%), transportation and warehousing (-2.44%), medical precision (-2.30%), non-metallic minerals (-1.85%), and chemicals (-1.77%) fell in sequence.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was recorded at 773.03, down 11.01 points (1.40%) from the previous trading day. Individual investors sold about 22.9 billion KRW worth, while foreign investors and institutions bought approximately 7.4 billion KRW and 16.1 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, L&F (-3.96%), EcoPro (-2.13%), and EcoPro BM (-1.46%) declined. On the other hand, POSCO DX (1.65%), Pearl Abyss (1.38%), and HLB (0.35%) rose, while Celltrion Healthcare remained flat.

On the 19th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,414.17, down 250.91 points (0.75%) from the previous session. The large-cap S&P 500 index ended at 4,278.00, down 36.60 points (0.85%). The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 13,186.18, down 128.13 points (0.96%).

Jerome Powell, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), and rising Treasury yields negatively impacted the market. Chair Powell pointed to high inflation and stronger-than-expected economic indicators, signaling his intention to continue a tightening policy. U.S. Treasury yields showed an upward trend. The 10-year Treasury yield reached 5.001% at 5 p.m. local time on the same day. This marks the first time in 16 years, since July 2007, that the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield has risen above 5%.

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