KOSPI, Korea's Monetary Policy Committee and Other Big Events Lead to Wait-and-See Sentiment

KOSDAQ Also Closes Slightly Lower

On the 21st, the stock market opened with the KOSPI slightly falling before rising. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

The domestic stock market closed slightly lower in a cautious stance on the 21st ahead of major events such as the release of the minutes from the Domestic Monetary Policy Committee and the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Profit-taking selling continued on low price-to-book ratio (PBR) stocks following the previous day.

The KOSPI index closed at 2,653.31, down 4.48 points (0.17%) from the previous session. The index opened at 2,656.92, down 0.03% from the previous close, showing limited fluctuations within a narrow range.

In the KOSPI market, individuals and foreigners sold net amounts of 89.6 billion KRW and 103.1 billion KRW respectively, while institutions bought a net amount of 144.3 billion KRW.

By sector, electrical and electronics (-0.17%), chemicals (-0.51%), and electric and gas utilities (-1.68%) declined, whereas textiles and apparel (2.02%) and transportation and warehousing (0.79%) rose.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, semiconductor shares including Samsung Electronics (-0.41%) and SK Hynix (-0.40%) fell, along with Celltrion (-1.61%) and POSCO Holdings (-0.45%). Some low PBR stocks such as Hyundai Motor (-1.03%), Samsung C&T (-0.62%), and KB Financial Group (-4.12%) also declined.

The KOSDAQ index also closed lower at 864.07, down 0.24% from the previous trading day. The index started at 861.58, down 0.53% from the previous close, fluctuating within a narrow range before closing.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions sold net amounts of 113.8 billion KRW and 75.0 billion KRW respectively, pulling the index down. Individuals bought a net amount of 208.4 billion KRW, providing support.

Ji-won Kim, an analyst from KB Securities’ Market Consulting Team, said, "While the U.S. stock market declined, the domestic market closed slightly lower in a cautious stance ahead of big event days such as Nvidia’s earnings, the Domestic Monetary Policy Committee, and the U.S. FOMC minutes. Healthcare, secondary batteries, construction, and finance sectors rose, but the stock-specific flows were dispersed and did not lead the market."

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