KOSPI 'Slightly Higher Close'... Foreigners Net Sell for Fifth Consecutive Day

KOSPI Up 0.17% Compared to Previous Session
Foreigners Net Sell 132.4 Billion Won...5 Consecutive Trading Days

The domestic stock market, which recorded a significant drop the previous day, closed slightly higher on the 18th. The KOSPI index fell below the 2430 level during the session but recovered losses as rebound buying entered the market.

On the 18th, the KOSPI index closed at 2440.04, up 4.14 points (0.17%) from the previous session. The index opened 0.17% higher at 2439.96, dropped to 2429.48 during the afternoon session, but then reversed upward to close near the opening level.

In the stock market, foreigners sold a net 132.4 billion KRW worth of shares, and institutions sold a net 19.1 billion KRW. Individuals bought a net 121.4 billion KRW, supporting the index. Foreigners continued their net selling trend for the fifth consecutive trading day since January 12.

By sector, electronics (1.00%), paper and wood products (0.83%), chemicals (0.57%), manufacturing (0.53%), and machinery (0.48%) performed well. In contrast, insurance (-1.79%), electric and gas utilities (-1.08%), pharmaceuticals (-0.93%), and transportation and warehousing (-0.90%) lagged. There were 422 advancing stocks and 448 declining stocks.

On the same day, the KOSDAQ index closed at 840.33, up 7.28 points (0.87%). Computer services (3.45%), software (2.07%), IT software (1.96%), and chemicals (1.90%) led the gains. Food and tobacco (-3.2%), finance (-0.75%), and textiles and apparel (-0.55%) underperformed. There were 992 advancing stocks and 563 declining stocks.

Jinhyuk Kang, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "Today, the U.S. December retail sales came out strong and long-term interest rates rose, putting some pressure on the domestic stock market," but added, "Given the large declines this year, rebound buying seems to have helped the market hold steady."

He further noted, "The possibility of a sharp drop like recently is limited. However, since there is still some downside risk as the market adjusts expectations for a pivot (shift from tightening policy), we need to watch the market direction a bit longer."

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