'Foreigners and Institutions Selling' KOSPI and KOSDAQ Take a Breather

The Korean stock market, which has been on an upward trend recently, is showing a slightly weak performance on the morning of the 20th.

As of 9:35 a.m. that day, the KOSPI was trading at 2,663.92, down 7.69 points (0.28%) from the previous day. The index opened at 2,661.72, down 9.80 points (0.37%). Currently, foreigners are net selling stocks worth 163.8 billion KRW, and institutions are net selling 145.1 billion KRW. Individuals are solely buying stocks worth 304 billion KRW.

On the 20th, the KOSPI index, which had been rising consecutively, started lower, and the KOSPI index and KRW/USD exchange rate were displayed on the status board in the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. On that day, the KOSPI opened at 2661.72, down 0.37% from the previous session, and the KRW/USD exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market started strong, rising more than 2 won. 2025.2.20 Photo by Jo Yong-jun

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Meritz Financial Group (3.69%), LG Energy Solution (3.28%), POSCO Holdings (2.90%), SK Innovation (1.23%), and Samsung Life Insurance (0.60%) are rising. Meanwhile, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-8.36%), Hanwha Ocean (-6.52%), Hanwha Aerospace (-3.29%), Samsung Biologics (-2.16%), Hyundai Mobis (-1.57%), and Shinhan Financial Group (-1.55%) are declining.

By sector, the entertainment and culture sector (2.36%), textile and apparel (0.90%), chemicals (0.81%), transportation and warehousing (0.78%), real estate (0.59%), and securities (0.61%) are rising. On the other hand, transportation equipment parts (-3.27%), machinery and equipment (-2.41%), construction (-2.18%), general services (-2.16%), pharmaceuticals (-1.29%), and medical precision instruments (-0.67%) are falling.

In particular, entertainment-related stocks are strong due to expectations of the lifting of the Hanhanryeong (Korean Wave content ban). The previous day, the Chinese government announced that it would lift regulations related to Hanhanryeong in May. This comes about eight years after the ban was imposed as retaliation for the South Korean government's deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) in 2017.

On the 19th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average, centered on blue-chip stocks, closed at 44,627.59, up 71.25 points (0.16%) from the previous trading day in the New York stock market. The S&P 500, focused on large-cap stocks, closed at 6,144.15, up 14.57 points (0.24%). This marked the second consecutive day of record highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at 20,056.25, up 14.99 points (0.07%).

Although the New York stock market started lower due to concerns over tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump and cautiousness over Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations, the market rebounded after the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes confirmed the possibility of halting quantitative tightening (QT).

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index recorded 776.40, down 1.87 points (0.24%) from the previous session. The index opened at 777.78, down 0.49 points (0.06%). Foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 116.3 billion KRW and 37.1 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals are net buying stocks worth 160.8 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Enchem (10.79%), SM Entertainment (8.19%), JYP Ent. (3.21%), EcoPro BM (2.81%), Pearl Abyss (1.51%), and EcoPro (1.10%) are rising. Meanwhile, Alteogen (-2.84%), Samchundang Pharm (-2.32%), HLB (-2.27%), Ligand Chem Bio (-1.95%), Peptron (-1.88%), and Rainbow Robotics (-1.59%) are declining.

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