[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The stock market, which started with a rebound on the 2nd, is narrowing its gains in the afternoon. The market showed a significant rise in the morning as the US stimulus package passed Congress and the upward trend in government bond yields eased, but the index's rise was limited as foreign net buying decreased.
As of 1:48 PM, the KOSPI index was trading at 3,044.55, down 30.38 points (1.03%) from the previous day. The KOSPI, which opened at 3,021.68, expanded its gains to the 3,095 level at one point during the session but fell back to around the 3,050 level in the afternoon.
Volatility was increased by foreign and institutional investors today. Individual investors, who engaged in bargain buying last month, net sold about 675.5 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions net bought 297 billion KRW and 405.8 billion KRW respectively. The net buying volume of foreigners and institutions decreased compared to the morning.
In the stock market today, expectations for the eco-friendly electric vehicle market, which dominated the stock market at the beginning of the year, grew, leading to notable gains in the chemical and machinery sectors. In particular, LG Chem recorded an intraday price increase of over 8%, and Hanon Systems also rose nearly 10%.
The secondary battery sector's stock prices fell by an average of 11% over two weeks. Unfavorable factors across the electric vehicle, cell, and materials sectors are believed to have dampened investor sentiment. Kim Kwang-jin, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, said, "Noise related to lawsuits and fires is expected to be resolved by April at the latest, and as the rapid upward trend in major metal prices and freight indices has recently shown signs of slowing, we anticipate entering a moderate upward phase going forward."
Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, most continued their upward trend, except for Celltrion (-0.17%), which was slightly down. Samsung Electronics (1.33%), SK Hynix (1.06%), NAVER (1.07%), and Hyundai Motor (0.63%) all showed weaker gains compared to the morning.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 922.25, up 8.38 points (0.91%). Individuals net sold about 21.1 billion KRW, and foreigners sold 18.6 billion KRW. Only institutions bought 37.1 billion KRW.
Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, Kakao Games (-1.67%) and EcoPro BM (-0.25%) showed declines, while the others were on the rise. In particular, HL Biotech (4.52%) and Seegene (4.26%), which decided on a free share issuance last month, showed the steepest gains. SK Materials, a semiconductor parts affiliate of SK, surged 5% at one point in the morning and was up 3% in the afternoon.
Lee Jin-woo, head of investment strategy at Meritz Securities, analyzed, "With the stabilization of US government bond yields, the domestic stock market is experiencing repeated pullbacks. Individual investors engaged in bargain buying during last week's correction, and as stock prices rose today, they seem to be realizing profits for short-term investments." Lee Kyung-min, head of investment strategy at Daishin Securities, also said, "Although US economic indicators were announced to have improved, the downward stabilization of bond yields has led to a strong upward trend in the domestic stock market. It appears that the previously suppressed upward momentum is now being released."
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