KOSPI Recovers to 2970s with Reduced Decline

Amid Persistent Foreign Selling Pressure, Individual Buying Demand Increases

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The KOSPI, which had fallen to the 2920 level for the first time since the beginning of the year, rebounded to the 2970 level. While foreigners continued to sell, individual investors' buying appears to have lifted the index.

As of 2:08 PM on the 9th, the KOSPI stood at 2976.31, down 0.66% from the previous day. After opening slightly lower at 2989.96, it continued to decline, reaching 2929.36 at 11:01 AM before showing a slight rebound. The KOSPI falling to the 2920 level is the first since January 5.

In the KOSPI market, foreigners net sold 740.7 billion KRW, while individuals and institutions net bought 419.6 billion KRW and 328.4 billion KRW, respectively. Although foreigners increased their selling from early in the session, individuals and institutions raised their buying, seemingly preventing a further drop in the index.

Many sectors declined. Non-metallic minerals (-3.81%), steel & metals (-3.05%), transportation & warehousing (-2.70%), and paper & wood (-1.97%) were among the largest decliners. Conversely, insurance (1.71%) and banking (1.55%) sectors rose.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, most were down. Kakao experienced the largest drop at -3.0%, followed by NAVER (-2.8%), LG Chem (-2.4%), Samsung SDI (-0.7%), Celltrion (-0.5%), Samsung Electronics (-0.4%), and Samsung Biologics (-0.2%). SK Hynix (0.7%), Kia Motors (0.6%), and Hyundai Motor (0.4%) rose.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ fell 1.50% from the previous day to 891.22. It also opened slightly lower at 904.04 but broke below the 900 mark shortly after the opening. It even dropped to 877.84 at one point in the morning, falling to the 870 level for the first time since November 27 of last year.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and individuals appeared to lead the index rebound. Foreigners net bought 33.6 billion KRW, and individuals net bought 92.6 billion KRW. In contrast, institutions net sold 110.3 billion KRW.

Almost all sectors declined. Publishing & media replication (-2.83%), transportation (-2.78%), non-metallic (-2.12%), and IT components (-1.95%) saw significant drops. Paper & wood was the only sector to rise, up 3.44%.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, Alteogen had the largest decline at -4.1%, followed by Celltrion Pharm (-2.8%), Kakao Games (-2.5%), Celltrion Healthcare (-1.7%), CJ ENM (-1.4%), EcoPro BM (-1.3%), and HLB (-0.1%). SK Materials (1.9%), Seegene (1.4%), and Pearl Abyss (0.3%) rose.