Foreigners and Institutions Sell Off... KOSPI Falls Below 2500 Mark

Fell Below 2,500 for the First Time Since Last December
Samsung Electronics and Hynix Drop by Over 1%

The KOSPI index fell below the 2500 level amid a selling offensive by institutional investors.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

As of 10:04 AM on the 16th, the KOSPI is trading at 2495.80, down 30.19 points (-1.20%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2516.27, down 9.72 points (0.38%) from the previous day, and barely held the 2510 level before ultimately giving up the 2500 level due to institutional selling pressure. This is the first time the KOSPI has fallen below 2500 since the 7th of last month.

The index was dragged down by institutions. Institutions have sold 147.7 billion KRW worth of shares, and foreigners have sold 76.3 billion KRW worth. Individuals are net buyers with 221.3 billion KRW.

On the 15th (local time), the US New York stock market was closed for Martin Luther King Day, while European markets closed lower across the board. Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Germany’s GDP contraction, and hawkish remarks from a European Central Bank (ECB) official (favoring monetary tightening) weighed on the markets.

Accordingly, the domestic market is expected to show a limited rebound today.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, forecasted, "Today, a continued inflow of buying due to an overreaction to the previous drop, a favorable foreign demand environment despite the ECB official’s dismissal of the possibility of interest rate cuts, and increased volatility in secondary battery stocks due to L&F’s earnings shock will coexist as upward and downward factors during the session, resulting in a limited rebound."

Among the top market capitalization stocks, except for Samsung Biologics (0.13%), Celltrion (0.05%), and NAVER (1.31%), all are declining. Samsung Electronics (-1.49%), SK Hynix (-1.86%), POSCO Holdings (-1.24%), and Kia (-1.10%) are all recording declines in the 1% range.

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