KOSPI Falls Below 3200 Due to Foreign and Institutional Selling... "Not a Shift to a Downtrend"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] On the 11th, the KOSPI fell below the 3200 mark due to simultaneous selling by foreigners and institutions.

As of 10:29 AM that day, the KOSPI was trading at 3,198.83, down 50.47 points (-1.55%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 3,239.92, down 9.38 points (-0.29%) from the previous day, and then showed a widening decline.

By investor type, individual investors were defending the index by purchasing 1.5309 trillion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold net amounts of 985.9 billion KRW and 521.8 billion KRW, respectively.

The top 10 stocks by market capitalization all showed declines. Samsung Electronics (-1.92%), SK Hynix (-4.62%), LG Chem (-0.22%), and NAVER (-3.45%) all fell. SK IE Technology (SKIET), which was listed that day, showed a decline of over 20% shortly after the market opened.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ recorded 976.68, down 15.82 points (-1.59%) from the previous session.

In the KOSDAQ as well, individuals were net buyers of 256.7 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 132.3 billion KRW and 115.3 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, Celltrion Healthcare (-1.55%), Celltrion Pharm (-1.81%), Kakao Games (-1.67%), and Pearl Abyss (-2.28%) declined. On the other hand, CJ ENM rose slightly by 0.20%.

Lee Jin-woo, head of investment strategy at Meritz Securities, said, "It is difficult to see today's market correction as having continuity," adding, "For the upward trend to break, there must be damage to corporate earnings, but this is not currently being observed."