KOSPI Closes at '3140 Level' on Individual and Foreign Buying

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] On the 17th, the KOSPI closed higher at the '3140 level' supported by net buying from individuals and foreigners. The KOSDAQ also showed an upward trend.

On that day, the KOSPI closed at 3140.51, up 10.42 points (0.33%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 3127.75, down 2.34 points (0.07%) from the previous day. It then dropped to the 3110 level in early trading but gradually reduced the decline and turned to rise in the afternoon.

By investor type, individuals and foreigners net bought 222.3 billion KRW and 46.6 billion KRW respectively. Institutions were net sellers with 305.8 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, SK Hynix and Celltrion showed the highest gains, rising 2.88% and 3.18% respectively. Celltrion's strength on the day was attributed to the decision to merge three unlisted companies within the Celltrion Group: Celltrion Holdings, Celltrion Healthcare Holdings, and Celltrion Skincure. Samsung Electronics (1.45%) and Samsung Biologics (1.86%) also rose more than 1%. On the other hand, Kakao (-1.65%) and LG Chem (-2.09%) showed a downward trend.

The KOSDAQ closed at 1046.12, up 6.69 points (0.64%). The index opened at 1040.73, up 1.3 points (0.13%) from the previous day.

By investor type, individuals were net sellers with 55.5 billion KRW. Institutions also showed net selling with 28.5 billion KRW. Foreigners were net buyers with 86.4 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Celltrion Healthcare (4.72%), EcoPro BM (0.48%), Celltrion Pharm (1.99%), SK Materials (0.60%), and Kakao Games (1.26%) rose. HL Biopharma (-1.79%) and L&F (-1.82%) declined.

Seok-hwan Kim, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "The domestic stock market showed a strong sideways trend after starting lower, as foreigners turned to futures buying. The electrical and electronics sector, which had fallen due to foreign selling the previous day, switched back to buying in just one day, and the expanded expectations for Samsung Electronics' strong third-quarter earnings also had a positive effect."