KOSPI, Foreigners Net Sell Amid Concerns Over Israel-Palestine War Escalation... Intraday Weakness

The KOSPI index is showing weakness during the session as foreigners are withdrawing amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

On the 16th, the KOSPI index opened at 2442.43, down 13.72 points (0.56%) from the previous trading day. Dealers are working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. On the same day, the won-dollar exchange rate started trading at 1352.5 won, up 2.5 won from the previous trading day.

As of 10:09 a.m. on the 16th, the KOSPI index is trading at 2444.48, down 11.75 points (0.48%) from the previous day.

By investor type, institutions and individuals are net buyers of 12.3 billion KRW and 42.9 billion KRW respectively, while foreigners are net sellers of 52.8 billion KRW. In the futures market, foreigners are also showing a net selling trend of 7.2 billion KRW. Program trading saw a net sale of 47.6 billion KRW in non-arbitrage trades.

Last Friday, the New York stock market closed mixed. The market started higher following strong earnings reports from major banks before the open, but gains were trimmed due to worsening consumer sentiment, rising expected inflation, and concerns over the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

By sector, more sectors are declining. The medical precision sector is down 1.6%, steel and metals -1.5%, chemicals -0.88%, electrical and electronics -0.73%, transportation and warehousing -0.7%, machinery -0.72%, services -0.61%, securities -0.52%, and electricity and gas -0.5%. On the other hand, transportation equipment is up 0.84%, food and beverages 0.52%, and paper and wood 0.42%.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, more are showing weakness. Samsung Electronics is slightly down by 0.29%, LG Energy Solution -2.17%, SK Hynix -0.72%, Samsung Biologics -0.42%, POSCO Holdings -2.34%, and LG Chem -3.6%. Conversely, Hyundai Motor is up 0.48%, Kia 1.07%, and Celltrion 0.14%.

The KOSDAQ index is recording a larger drop. At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 809.65, down 13.13 points (1.6%) from the previous day. By investor type, institutions and individuals are net buyers of 18.7 billion KRW and 66.4 billion KRW respectively, while foreigners are net sellers of 80.4 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, battery-related stocks showed notable weakness. EcoPro BM and EcoPro fell 4.07% and 3.0% respectively, and L&F also showed weakness with a 2.61% decline. JYP Ent., Alteogen, and Pearl Abyss are also down. On the other hand, Celltrion Healthcare is up 0.31%, and HLB is moving in a strong flat range.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won/dollar exchange rate is trading at 1353.2 won, up 3.2 won from the previous day.