Foreigners Move on 'Click' in KOSPI, Fluctuations Continue During Session... Construction Stocks 'Strong'

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] On the afternoon of the 8th, the KOSPI index turned downward again. Although it managed to rebound temporarily during the session due to net buying by foreign investors, the buying momentum from foreigners decreased in the afternoon, leading to a reversal into a decline.

As of 1:30 PM that day, the KOSPI index was trading at 3,133.03, down 4.38 points (0.14%) from the previous day. Individuals were net buyers with approximately 281.7 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold about 1.9 billion KRW and 288.3 billion KRW respectively.

Large-cap stocks (-0.25%) were declining, whereas mid-cap stocks (0.57%) and small-cap stocks (0.19%) showed upward trends.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, only Samsung Electronics (-1.64%), NAVER (0.78%), and LG Chem (-0.86%) were in decline. SK Hynix and Samsung Biologics remained flat, and Kia (1.88%) showed the strongest performance.

Construction stocks (3.69%) showed the largest gains, with Daewoo Construction (8.01%), GS Construction (6.45%), and Hyundai Construction (3.56%) performing strongly. Kang Kyung-tae, a researcher at Sangsangin Securities, said, "Seoul Mayor-elect Oh Se-hoon plans to propose an amendment to the Seoul Urban Planning Ordinance to ease housing luxury regulations," adding, "It is expected that Seoul's housing-related policies will be relaxed." Kang also noted, "It is time to focus on the expansion of large construction companies that are increasing the proportion of redevelopment projects in their total supply volume."

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index rose 5.56 points (0.57%) from the previous day to 978.78. Individuals were net buyers with about 82.7 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of approximately 70 billion KRW and 13.1 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top KOSDAQ stocks, Seegene surged 22.44%. This is interpreted as reflecting improved performance of diagnostic kits amid expectations of a prolonged COVID-19 situation due to renewed concerns about blood clot issues related to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine. Additionally, Kakao Games (0.18%) and Studio Dragon (0.94%) showed slight gains.

Lee Kyung-min, head of the investment strategy team at Daishin Securities, explained, "Although the market showed sluggish movement early in the session, the KOSPI reversed to an upward trend as foreigners switched to net buying, but the index declined again in the afternoon as foreigners returned to net selling."