KOSPI Closes Down Over 2% at 7,640 as Foreign Investors Sell KRW 5 Trillion

As the KOSPI index hovered just below the 8,000 mark and entered a pause, an employee was monitoring the stock market and exchange rates in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 12th. On that day, the KOSPI opened at 7,953.41, up 1.68% from the previous trading day. May 12, 2026, Photo by Cho Yong-jun

The KOSPI closed lower, pressured by heavy selling from foreign investors and institutions.

On May 12, the KOSPI finished the session at 7,643.15, down 179.09 points (2.29%) from the previous day. Trading volume was 1.00155 billion shares, and the provisional trading value was KRW 66.6095 trillion.

By investor type, institutions and foreigners were net sellers of KRW 1.2138 trillion and KRW 5.6258 trillion, respectively, while individual investors were net buyers of KRW 6.6820 trillion. In the futures market, institutions and foreigners were net buyers of KRW 561.7 billion and KRW 80.4 billion, respectively, while individuals were net sellers of KRW 518.5 billion. Program trading recorded net selling of KRW 39.4 billion in arbitrage trades and KRW 3.2753 trillion in non-arbitrage trades.

By industry, most sectors declined. The securities sector dropped by 6.25%, construction by 5.0%, electric & gas by 3.86%, chemicals by 3.59%, medical precision instruments by 3.52%, metals by 3.06%, machinery & equipment by 3.02%, finance by 2.99%, entertainment & culture by 2.84%, distribution by 2.58%, real estate by 2.32%, electrical & electronics by 2.29%, and manufacturing by 2.22%. In contrast, the telecommunications sector rose by 3.64%, and the transportation & warehousing and pharmaceuticals sectors showed mild gains.

Among large-cap stocks, most shares declined. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell by 2.28% and 2.39%, respectively. SK Square dropped by 5.14%, LG Energy Solution by 5.34%, Doosan Enerbility by 1.88%, Samsung C&T by 3.76%, Samsung Biologics by 1.03%, Hanwha Aerospace by 2.36%, and Kia by 3.66%. On the other hand, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose by 3.21%, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics surged by 6.44%.

The number of advancing stocks was 146, while 733 stocks declined, and 20 stocks remained unchanged. Six stocks hit the upper price limit.

The KOSDAQ index also ended the session weak. On this day, the KOSDAQ closed at 1,179.29, down 28.05 points (2.32%) from the previous day. By investor type, institutions and individuals were net sellers of KRW 260.0 billion and KRW 220.1 billion, respectively, while foreigners were net buyers of KRW 509.9 billion.

Among major KOSDAQ stocks, performances were mixed. Ecopro BM and Ecopro fell by 7.43% and 4.58%, respectively. Rainbow Robotics declined by 1.16%, LIG Nex1 by 6.39%, Jusung Engineering by 4.76%, and Wonik IPS by 11.72%. In contrast, Alteogen rose by 5.23%, Kolon TissueGene by 4.44%, Samchundang Pharm by 1.34%, HLB by 0.18%, Legochem Bioscience by 10.48%, and ABL Bio by 1.8%.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won/dollar exchange rate is trading at 1,490.0 won, up 17.3 won from the previous day.

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