'Secondary Battery and Low PBR Stocks Lead Gains' KOSPI and KOSDAQ Close Higher

by Kim Daehyun

Published 07 Feb.2024 16:20(KST)

The KOSPI index closed higher on the 7th as demand concentrated on secondary battery-related stocks and stocks with low price-to-book ratios (PBR).

Securities company app, stock trading scene. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On that day, the KOSPI index closed at 2,609.58, up 33.38 points (1.30%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2,592.59, up 16.39 points (0.64%), and maintained an upward trend throughout the session. Foreign investors and institutions bought 538.1 billion KRW and 625.5 billion KRW, respectively. Individual investors sold about 1.135 trillion KRW on their own.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Life Insurance (5.17%), Hyundai Mobis (4.33%), Samsung C&T (4.27%), Hyundai Motor (4.03%), POSCO Future M (3.46%), POSCO Holdings (2.86%), Kia (2.78%), KB Financial Group (2.54%), and LG Energy Solution (2.39%) rose. On the other hand, Samsung Biologics (-2.36%), Celltrion (-2.19%), Naver (NAVER) (-0.49%), and Kakao (-0.37%) declined.

By sector, transportation equipment (2.60%), steel and metals (2.48%), insurance (1.99%), distribution (1.81%), finance (1.58%), and textiles and apparel (1.48%) increased. Conversely, medical precision (-0.93%), pharmaceuticals (-0.24%), and paper and wood (-0.07%) sectors declined.

Research analysts Joon-ki Cho and Jae-hyun Kang of SK Securities stated, "In the early session, demand alternated between the secondary battery sector, including the EcoPro group stocks, and low PBR stocks in the later session." They added, "Secondary battery stocks showed strong performance for the first time in a while. This was in response to Tesla's recent vertical plunge in the US stock market followed by a strong gain of over 2%, as well as the earnings and conference call announcements from the EcoPro group released that day." They further explained, "Discussions about EcoPro's proposed 5-for-1 stock split and EcoPro BM's planned transfer listing to the KOSPI stimulated investor sentiment."

The KOSDAQ index closed at 811.92, up 4.89 points (0.61%) from the previous session. The index opened at 811.51, up 4.48 points (0.56%), and maintained an upward trend. Foreign and individual investors net bought 13.1 billion KRW and 99.7 billion KRW, respectively. Institutions sold 107.8 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Sinseong Delta Tech (16.60%), EcoPro (13.75%), CJ ENM (5.67%), EcoPro BM (6.71%), HLB (2.30%), and LS Materials (0.84%) rose. Meanwhile, Enchem (-7.16%), HPSP (-4.66%), and Dongjin Semichem (-2.68%) declined.