KOSPI Stalled... Holds Above 3100 with 2 Trillion Won Buying by Individuals

Dropped 3.2% Compared to Previous Day During Trading, but Recovered Due to Individual Buying Pressure

On the afternoon of the 12th, a dealer is looking at a monitor in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI, which had fallen more than 3% at one point during the session, closed above the 3100 mark, supported by individual investors' buying worth over 2 trillion won.

On the 12th, the KOSPI closed at 3122.95, down 0.71% (22.50 points) from the previous day. Around 1:43 PM, it had dropped to 3047.56, down 3.20% from the previous day, but recovered above 3100 by the end of the session thanks to individual investors' buying.

Individual buying narrowed the index's decline. Individuals net purchased 2.3129 trillion won on the day alone. Following 4.2921 trillion won the previous day, they bought more than 6.5 trillion won over two days. Meanwhile, foreigners and institutions net sold 618.6 billion won and 1.7233 trillion won, respectively.

Many sectors declined. The securities sector had the largest drop at -2.96%. This was followed by transportation equipment (-2.08%), steel & metals (-1.80%), chemicals (-1.38%), and telecommunications (-1.01%). Paper & wood (3.48%), medical precision (1.47%), and textiles & apparel (1.41%) rose.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks fell. Hyundai Mobis had the largest decline at -5.8%, followed by LG Chem (-3.6%), Samsung Biologics (-3.3%), SK Hynix (-3.0%), Hyundai Motor (-2.4%), NAVER (-1.6%), and Samsung Electronics (-0.4%). Celltrion (2.6%), Samsung SDI (2.0%), and Kakao (0.9%) rose.

The KOSDAQ showed a similar trend. It closed at 973.72, down 0.30% (2.91 points) from the previous day. It showed a downward trend from early in the session and dropped to 956.72, down more than 2% from the previous day, around 1:44 PM. It then rebounded to recover above 970.

Individuals net purchased 360.4 billion won, while foreigners and institutions net sold 86.2 billion won and 153.7 billion won, respectively.

More sectors declined in the KOSDAQ market as well. Other services (-1.88%), IT components (-1.13%), other manufacturing (-1.12%), paper & wood (-1.09%), and telecommunications equipment (-0.95%) declined. Broadcasting services (3.72%), publishing & media replication (3.15%), and telecommunications & broadcasting services (3.10%) rose.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, more sectors declined. SK Materials had the largest drop at -5.5%, followed by EcoPro BM (-3.1%), Alteogen (-1.7%), Kakao Games (-1.0%), Celltrion Healthcare (-0.5%), and HLB (-0.2%). CJ ENM (5.6%), Pearl Abyss (2.6%), Celltrion Pharm (0.7%), and Seegene (0.5%) rose.