Korean Stock Market Rebounds After Six Days... Both Markets Close Higher

Institutional Buying Strength... Recovery of Investor Sentiment with Rebound Buying Inflow

On the afternoon of the 20th, the closing prices of the KOSPI and the KRW/USD exchange rate are displayed on the status board in the dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The domestic stock market, which had been declining for several days, rebounded for the first time in a while. This is attributed to low-price buying inflows due to the previous downtrend and the impact of liquidity easing in China.

On the 20th, the KOSPI closed at 2,862.68, up 0.72% (20.40 points) from the previous day. It opened at 2,842.28, the same as the previous day, briefly dropped to the 2,830 level in the morning, but then showed an upward trend.

By investor type, individuals and institutions net bought 145.1 billion KRW and 105.8 billion KRW respectively. Foreigners net sold 273.9 billion KRW.

Almost all sectors rose. The largest gains were in Medical Precision (3.39%), Chemicals (3.39%), Textiles & Apparel (1.61%), and Services (1.56%). Insurance (-1.99%) and Finance (-0.31%) declined.

Most of the top 10 market capitalization stocks also rose. LG Chem had the largest increase at 6.58%, followed by Samsung SDI (4.08%), Kakao (2.10%), NAVER (0.75%), Hyundai Motor (0.75%), POSCO (0.53%), Samsung Electronics (0.26%), and Kia (0.25%). SK Hynix fell by 1.57%.

The KOSDAQ closed at 958.70, up 2.66% (24.80 points) from the previous day. After opening slightly higher at 934.00, it widened its gains and recovered to the 950 level in closing price for the first time in two days.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions net bought 155.6 billion KRW and 172.8 billion KRW respectively. Individuals net sold 323.6 billion KRW.

All sectors rose. Many sectors increased by more than 3%, including Digital Content (5.28%), IT S/W & SVC (4.08%), Entertainment & Culture (3.75%), Chemicals (3.73%), General Electric & Electronics (3.63%), Paper & Wood (3.37%), and Publishing & Media Replication (3.07%).

Almost all of the top 10 market capitalization stocks rose. The order was Seegene (9.78%), Wemade (7.03%), EcoPro BM (5.35%), Kakao Games (5.00%), Chunbo (4.95%), Pearl Abyss (4.84%), HLB (4.11%), L&F (3.86%), and Celltrion Pharm (0.67%). Celltrion Healthcare was the only stock to fall, down 1.35%.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "The rebound buying inflow, along with the intraday effect of the Chinese Loan Prime Rate (LPR) cut, led to a strong performance in the Chinese and Hong Kong stock markets, which restored investor sentiment and expanded the gains. The KOSDAQ rose by over 2% due to strength in secondary battery and gaming-related stocks, and the resolution of supply-demand concerns related to LG Energy Solution's IPO also had a positive effect."