KOSPI Struggles... Institutions Sell Over 1 Trillion Won

Foreigners and Institutions' Joint Net Selling Drives Continued 1% Decline
KOSDAQ Sideways Around 970 Level

On the morning of the 17th, when the KOSPI started weak, dealers were working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI index remains unable to break out of a 1% decline as foreigners and institutions net sold over 1.6 trillion won.

At 1:41 PM on the 17th, the KOSPI recorded 3,128.38, down 1.10% (34.87 points) from the previous day. After opening at 3,162.95, down 0.01% from the previous day, the index has struggled to narrow its losses.

Sell-offs by foreigners and institutions dragged the index down. Foreigners net sold 433.8 billion won, and institutions net sold 1.2159 trillion won. This marks the first time in seven days since the 4th that daily net sales exceeded 1 trillion won. Individuals net bought 1.6536 trillion won.

Many sectors continued to decline. The transportation equipment sector saw the largest drop at -2.23%. This was followed by electrical and electronics (-1.71%), machinery (-1.61%), manufacturing (-1.33%), and construction (-1.23%). Meanwhile, paper and wood (6.74%), non-metallic minerals (2.20%), and insurance (1.88%) rose.

All of the top 10 market capitalization stocks except Celltrion (0.7%) were in decline. SK Hynix had the largest drop at -3.0%, followed by Kia Motors (-2.9%), Samsung Electronics (-2.1%), Hyundai Motor (-2.0%), and LG Chem (-1.7%).

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index rose 0.07% (0.64 points) to 978.38, turning to a slight gain. Although it fell to 970.55 early in the session, it has maintained the 970 level and is trading sideways.

Similarly, foreigners and institutions sold, but individuals supported the index with net buying. Foreigners and institutions net bought 87.8 billion won and 98.5 billion won respectively, while individuals net bought 228.8 billion won.

Many sectors rose. The telecommunications services sector had the largest gain at 7.87%, followed by telecommunications and broadcasting services (4.19%), information devices (3.52%), broadcasting services (3.03%), and internet (2.91%). Conversely, transportation equipment and parts (-1.90%), digital content (-1.52%), and other manufacturing (-1.05%) declined.

Among the lower market capitalization stocks, Pearl Abyss had the largest drop at -7.8%, followed by HL Biopharma (-6.1%), EcoPro BM (-1.8%), Kakao Games (-1.6%), and Alteogen (-1.3%). Celltrion Pharm (2.5%), SK Materials (2.3%), Celltrion Healthcare (2.0%), Seegene (1.4%), and CJ ENM (0.8%) rose.