KOSPI Closes in 3,200 Range... Foreign Investors Return to Net Buying
by Lee Minwoo
Published 11 Aug.2025 15:55(KST)
Market Cautious Ahead of Key U.S. Inflation Data Releases
KOSPI and KOSDAQ End Flat as Investors Await CPI and PPI Results
The KOSPI remained around the 3,200 mark and closed slightly lower. The KOSDAQ also rebounded modestly but stayed near flat. Market sentiment was cautious ahead of the release of major U.S. inflation data.
On August 11, the KOSPI ended the session at 3,206.77, down 0.10% from the previous trading day. The index opened slightly higher at 3,220.72, but declined in the afternoon, falling below the 3,210 level.
By investor type, foreigners were the sole net buyers, purchasing 261.9 billion won worth of shares. After having turned to net selling on both the 7th and 8th, they returned to net buying after two trading days. Individuals and institutions were net sellers, offloading 199.5 billion won and 207.3 billion won worth of shares, respectively.
By sector, more sectors declined than rose. Several sectors fell by more than 1%, including securities (-2.08%), transportation·storage (-1.81%), electric·gas (-1.70%), transportation equipment·parts (-1.58%), chemicals (-1.51%), and food·beverages·tobacco (-1.40%). In contrast, machinery·equipment (2.75%), metals (1.06%), and electric·electronics (0.93%) posted gains.
Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, there was a stark divide. Doosan Enerbility (4.5%), SK Hynix (3.9%), LG Energy Solution (2.7%), and Samsung Biologics (0.9%) rose, while Samsung Electronics (-0.9%), KB Financial Group (-0.7%), and Hanwha Aerospace (-0.1%) declined.
The KOSDAQ closed at 811.85, up 0.32% from the previous trading day. Although it fell to the 805 level early in the session, it recovered those losses by the close.
In the KOSDAQ market, both foreigners and institutions were net buyers, purchasing 63.7 billion won and 42.9 billion won worth of shares, respectively. Only individuals were net sellers, offloading 111.4 billion won worth of shares.
More sectors rose than fell. The entertainment·culture sector recorded the largest gain at 3.26%, followed by finance (2.09%), metals (1.86%), electric·electronics (1.81%), paper·wood (1.80%), chemicals (1.27%), and telecommunications (1.15%). Conversely, distribution (-3.94%), construction (-1.53%), and transportation·storage (-1.26%) declined.
Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, EcoPro BM surged by 8.0%. EcoPro (4.8%) and PharmaResearch (2.4%) also posted relatively large gains. On the other hand, HLB dropped by as much as 4.9%. Rainbow Robotics (-0.3%), Peptron (-0.3%), and LIG ChemBio (-0.2%) also declined.
Market participants are showing a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the release of U.S. inflation indicators, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) for July, scheduled for August 12 and 14. The outcome of these releases is expected to influence the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)'s decision on the future direction of U.S. benchmark interest rates.
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