On the First Trading Day of the Year of the Black Tiger, KOSPI Closes Just Below 3000

Institution Alone Net Sold Over 800 Billion Won

This year, the KOSPI index made new history in the domestic stock market by surpassing the 3300 mark despite the shock of COVID-19. At the same time, the index experienced a sharp decline due to tapering (asset purchase reduction), inflation, US-China conflicts, and concerns over variant viruses. In the new year of Im In, we hope that the Korean economy will leap forward more vigorously with the bravery of the tiger. On the 22nd, the year is coming to an end in the Yeouido financial district of Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] On the first trading day of the new year, the KOSPI closed with a rise of over 0.3%. Although it showed an increase of over 1% in the early session, the index gave up some of its gains as institutional investors sold heavily.

On the 3rd, the KOSPI closed at 2,988.77, up 0.37% (11.12 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2,998.32, up 0.69% (20.67 points) from the previous day. The main drivers pushing the index up were foreign investors and individuals. According to investor trends, foreign investors and individuals bought stocks worth 270.4 billion KRW and 519.2 billion KRW respectively, while institutions sold stocks worth 813.4 billion KRW alone.

Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, “Although the index rose due to the inflow of buying by foreign investors and individuals, caution prevailed ahead of the FOMC minutes release and employment data scheduled for the 5th and 7th respectively, limiting further gains.”

By sector, construction (1.96%), transportation and warehousing (1.5%), steel and metals (1.38%), and pharmaceuticals (1.12%) showed the largest gains. Among individual stocks, Hyundai Construction, which secured new urban redevelopment project orders exceeding 5 trillion KRW, rose 3.8%. In the pharmaceutical sector, Jinwon Life Sciences closed up 10% on news that the U.S. FDA approved clinical trials for GLS-5310 as a booster shot for COVID-19 vaccine recipients.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics (0.38%), Samsung Biologics (0.89%), Kakao (1.78%), Hyundai Motor (0.72%), LG Chem (0.49%), and Kia (0.49%) rose, while SK Hynix (-1.91%), NAVER (-0.66%), and Samsung SDI (-0.76%) declined.

The KOSDAQ index, which had been declining during the session, also closed higher. The KOSDAQ ended at 1,037.83, up 0.37% (3.85 points) from the previous day. Investor trends showed that individuals alone bought stocks worth 396 billion KRW, while foreign investors and institutions sold stocks worth 216 billion KRW and 172.9 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks on KOSDAQ, Ecopro BM (-4.15%), Pearl Abyss (-3.11%), L&F (-6.25%), Chunbo (-4.91%), and Seegene (-0.82%) declined, while Celltrion Pharm (0.08%), Kakao Games (2.20%), and Wemade (3.37%) rose.