KOSPI Falls to 7,600 During Session on Foreign Selling

KOSDAQ Extends Losses, Falls to the 1,150 Level

The KOSPI index set a new record early in the session on May 15, rising to 8,040, but fell back to the 7,600 range due to selling by foreign investors. The KOSDAQ index has also extended its losses, dropping to the 1,150 level.

As of 1:01 p.m. on this day, the KOSPI index was trading at 7,697.50, down 3.56% from the previous session.

On the 15th, when the KOSPI index surpassed the 8,000 mark intraday for the first time in history, the domestic stock market index was displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2026.5.15 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Earlier in the morning, at around 9:28 a.m., the KOSPI index climbed to an all-time high of 8,046.78. However, the index reversed course as foreign investors made net sales of 4.4047 trillion won and institutions sold 789.3 billion won. Individual investors are currently net buyers of 5.1464 trillion won.

Most sectors are also showing declines. The following sectors have dropped: electrical and electronics (-4.63%), construction (-6.79%), machinery and equipment (-2.42%), chemicals (-3.01%), transportation and warehousing (-2.49%), finance (-2.47%), securities (-3.12%), insurance (-2.69%), and manufacturing (-4.04%). Only metals (0.71%) and textiles and apparel (0.99%) are posting slight gains.

The top market capitalization stocks are also struggling. Samsung Electronics (-5.4%), SK hynix (-4.0%), SK Square (-5.2%), LG Energy Solution (-2.9%), Doosan Enerbility (-3.3%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-3.5%), and Kia (-3.5%) are all down. Hyundai Motor (0.5%) and Samsung Electro-Mechanics (1.4%) are showing modest increases.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 1,159.22, down 31.87 points (2.68%) from the previous day. Foreign investors bought 115.2 billion won worth of shares, while individuals (31.5 billion won) and institutions (7.5 billion won) were net buyers.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, all except for Ligachem Bio (0.4%) declined. This includes Alteogen (-2.2%), Ecopro BM (-5.8%), Ecopro (-5.9%), Rainbow Robotics (-1.1%), Samchundang Pharm (-2.4%), LIG Nex1 (-8.3%), HLB (-0.1%), ABL Bio (-3.6%), and Jusung Engineering (-17.3%).

Suh Sangyoung, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "After surpassing 8,000 points at the start of trading, the Korean stock market reversed course as foreign selling intensified. Subsequently, after U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he would 'no longer tolerate' Iran, U.S. after-hours futures turned downward, and the Korean stock market also saw its decline deepen as these developments unfolded."

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