Volatile Stock Market... KOSPI Decline Widens Again to 2% Range

Falling to the 3040s... KOSDAQ Declines Over 2%

On the morning of the 28th, the KOSPI index is displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI, which briefly recovered to the 3100 level after rebounding in the morning, turned downward again and fell back to the 3000 level.

As of 1:40 PM on the 28th, the KOSPI recorded 3046.83, down 2.43% (75.73 points) from the previous day. The KOSPI started slightly lower at 3114.98 but plunged sharply right after the opening. Around 9:31 AM, it dropped to 3046.97 before starting to rebound, rising to 3102.05 by 10:55 AM, but then it slipped again.

It appears that selling pressure from foreigners and institutions pulled the index down. Foreigners sold a net 1.2588 trillion KRW, and institutions sold a net 468.8 billion KRW. Individuals bought a net 1.7218 trillion KRW.

Almost all sectors were in decline. Steel & Metals (-3.60%), Machinery (-3.13%), Distribution (-3.29%), and Electric & Gas (-2.92%) were among the worst performers. Only Paper & Wood (2.32%) and Services (0.03%) rose.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks fell. SK Hynix had the largest drop at -5.0%. Following were Samsung SDI (-4.0%), Hyundai Motor (-2.8%), and Samsung Electronics (-2.3%). NAVER (4.1%), Celltrion (1.3%), and LG Chem (0.5%) rose.

The KOSDAQ showed a similar trend. At the same time, it fell 2.92% from the previous day to 957.17. After opening slightly lower, it plunged and then rebounded. Around 10:30 AM, it recovered to 976.67 but then turned downward again.

In the KOSDAQ market as well, selling pressure from foreigners and institutions was prominent. They sold a net 199.9 billion KRW and 130.5 billion KRW respectively, while individuals bought a net 372.2 billion KRW.

All sectors declined. Telecommunications Services had the largest drop at -5.14%, followed by Telecommunications Broadcasting Services (-4.08%), Semiconductors (-3.84%), and Broadcasting Services (-3.80%).

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, all except Pearl Abyss (0.7%) were down. CJ ENM had the largest decline at -4.7%, followed by SK Materials (-4.2%), EcoPro BM (-4.0%), Alteogen (-3.6%), Kakao Games (-2.5%), Celltrion Pharm (-2.4%), Celltrion Healthcare (-1.5%), HLB (-1.1%), and Seegene (-0.7%).