Foreigners Led KOSPI... Market Closes Just Below 3170

On this day, KOSPI rose to 3173.26
KOSDAQ also continued its previous day's upward trend... closing in the 1010 range

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The KOSPI showed a rise of over 1% thanks to foreign buying momentum. The U.S. stock market is also expected to enter an earnings-driven phase.

On the 13th, the KOSPI closed at 3,169.08, up 1.07% (33.49 points) from the previous trading day. It even rose to 3,173.26 at 12:39 PM that day.

Foreign buying led to the KOSPI's rise. Foreigners and institutions net bought 446.1 billion KRW and 8.9 billion KRW respectively. Individuals net sold 466.4 billion KRW.

Most sectors rose. The telecommunications sector had the largest increase at 4.60%. This was followed by paper and wood (3.06%), chemicals (2.44%), pharmaceuticals (1.62%), and distribution (1.53%). Meanwhile, securities (-1.95%), construction (-1.13%), steel and metals (-0.61%), non-metallic minerals (-0.54%), and machinery (-0.37%) declined.

Among the top market cap stocks, LG Chem had the largest gain at 6.24%. This was interpreted as a positive factor due to the battery agreement with SK Innovation. Next were Samsung SDI (5.34%), Celltrion (1.77%), Hyundai Motor (1.77%), SK Hynix (1.45%), Kia (1.42%), Samsung Electronics (0.96%), NAVER (0.78%), and Samsung Biologics (0.26%). Kakao remained flat.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ closed at 1,010.37, up 0.97% (9.72 points) from the previous trading day. This continued the upward trend after hitting the "thousand point KOSDAQ" for the first time in 20 years and 7 months the day before.

In the KOSDAQ market, individuals led the rise. Individuals net bought 53.8 billion KRW. Foreigners and institutions net sold 26.4 billion KRW and 11.2 billion KRW respectively.

Most sectors in KOSDAQ also rose. Distribution had the largest increase at 3.10%, followed by information devices (2.81%), pharmaceuticals (2.48%), transportation (2.14%), and medical and precision instruments (1.93%). Meanwhile, finance (-3.72%), construction (-1.46%), other manufacturing (-1.12%), textiles and apparel (-0.95%), and publishing and media reproduction (-0.76%) declined.

Most of the top 10 stocks rose. Celltrion Pharm's increase was the largest at 5.55%, followed by Celltrion Healthcare (4.54%), Kakao Games (2.19%), HL Biopharma (1.71%), Seegene (1.13%), SK Materials (0.81%), CJ ENM (0.71%), and EcoPro BM (0.06%). On the other hand, Alteogen fell by -1.14%. Pearl Abyss remained flat. Studio Dragon recorded -1.14%, dropping to 11th in market cap.

Thanks to vaccination and stimulus measures, the U.S. economy is expected to recover, and the stock market is anticipated to enter a performance-driven phase. (Source=Hi Investment & Securities)

Meanwhile, the U.S. stock market is also expected to enter a phase of economic growth and earnings from the second quarter. This is due to rapid vaccine rollouts and stimulus measures. Jang Hee-jong, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, said, “Attention should be paid to the inflow of funds into value stocks,” adding, “The U.S. quarterly corporate earnings forecasts also show a recovery centered on economically sensitive sectors becoming prominent from the second quarter.” Furthermore, he added, “From this year, the electric vehicle supply in the U.S. is becoming full-scale, and benefits from eco-friendly policies are expected, so this is seen as a differentiating factor for smart mobility exchange-traded funds (ETFs).”