Both Markets Fall Over 1%... KOSPI Drops Below 3,200

by Lee Minwoo

Published 22 Jul.2025 16:06(KST)

Foreigners and Institutions Sell Off Stocks
Indices Reach New Yearly Highs in Early Trading, Then Decline

Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices fell by more than 1% as foreigners and institutions continued to sell stocks.

On July 22, the KOSPI closed at 3,169.94, down 1.27% from the previous day. After opening slightly lower, the index briefly turned upward in early trading, reaching a new yearly high of 3,220.07 before beginning to decline. This was the first time since August 12, 2021, that the KOSPI had risen to the 3,220 level.

Foreigners and institutions drove the index down with net sales. They sold a net 265.1 billion won and 461.1 billion won, respectively. In contrast, individual investors were net buyers of 712 billion won.

Almost all sectors declined. The machinery and equipment sector saw the steepest drop at 4.84%. Other sectors that fell by more than 1% included construction (-3.01%), electrical and electronics (-2.00%), metals (-1.83%), manufacturing (-1.55%), and medical and precision instruments (-1.14%). Only telecommunications rose, gaining 1.12%.

Most of the top 10 companies by market capitalization also declined. Doosan Enerbility recorded the largest drop at 7.7%. This was followed by Samsung Electronics (-2.6%), SK Hynix (-1.4%), Hyundai Motor (-1.2%), Kia (-1.2%), KB Financial Group (-0.5%), and Celltrion (-0.4%). LG Energy Solution (1.0%), Samsung Biologics (0.3%), and Hanwha Aerospace (0.1%) rose.

The KOSDAQ also closed down 1.06% at 812.97. The KOSDAQ showed a similar pattern, starting slightly higher, hitting a new yearly high in early trading, and then declining sharply.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 47.8 billion won and 149.6 billion won, respectively. Individual investors were net buyers of 201.8 billion won.

Again, most sectors declined. The largest drops were seen in machinery and equipment (-2.35%), transportation and storage (-1.82%), non-metallic minerals (-1.74%), textiles and medical (-1.54%), IT services (-1.42%), metals (-1.15%), entertainment and culture (-1.14%), manufacturing (-1.11%), chemicals (-1.06%), and general services (-1.02%). Increases were seen in paper and wood (8.73%), telecommunications (1.12%), and pharmaceuticals (0.17%).

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Most of the top 10 companies by market capitalization also declined. EcoPro BM (-3.7%) and EcoPro (-3.6%) posted particularly sharp drops. They were followed by Rainbow Robotics (-2.5%), Samchun Dang Pharm (-2.3%), Alteogen (-1.2%), HLB (-1.1%), Peptron (-0.8%), and Hugel (-0.1%). LIG ChemBio was the only company among the top 10 by market capitalization to rise, up 0.3%.