KOSDAQ Index Threatened to Break Below 900... Rising Concerns Over US Tightening

On the 25th, the KOSPI opened at 2,786.41, down 5.59 points (0.20%) from the previous trading day, at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. On the same day, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,196.0 won, down 0.1 won from the previous trading day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The KOSDAQ index is under threat of breaking below the 900 level during trading on the 25th. Ahead of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting starting today, concerns over tightening have intensified, leading to heavy selling by foreign investors. The KOSPI index, which fell below the 2800 level the previous day, is also plunging more than 50 points in less than an hour.

As of 9:53 a.m. on the same day, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 904.62, down 10.65 points (1.18%) from the previous day. The index opened at 920.95, up 5.55 points (0.61%), but gave up its gains early on and fell to the low 900s within about an hour. At the same time, individual investors are net buying about 25.4 billion KRW, and institutions about 9.4 billion KRW, but foreign investors are selling about 37.1 billion KRW, pulling the index down.

The KOSPI index is down 52.95 points (1.90%) at 2738.11. Individual investors, who are buying on dips, are net purchasing about 277.5 billion KRW, while foreign investors are net selling about 255.9 billion KRW. Institutions are also contributing to the index decline with net sales of about 41.4 billion KRW.

All of the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI are showing declines. In particular, LG Chem is plunging more than 4% ahead of the Energy Solution's listing on the Korea Exchange on the 27th of this month, and Samsung SDI is down more than 3%. Additionally, Samsung Biologics (-3.21%) and KB Financial Group (-3.91%) are both down around 3%. Samsung Electronics also fell 1.60%.

Among the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSDAQ, Ecopro BM, which recently fell sharply due to a factory fire, rebounded 2.25% after two days, and except for Kakao Games (1.00%) and Wemade (0.78%), the rest of the stocks are weak. In particular, Celltrion Healthcare, Celltrion Pharm, and Seegene are showing declines of more than 3%. Ki Young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "In the U.S. stock market, IBM reported better-than-expected earnings after the close, leading to a more than 5% surge in after-hours trading, indicating that expectations for the earnings season of domestic and international tech and growth stocks remain valid." He added, "At this point, it is appropriate to prepare for increased volatility in both the Korean and U.S. stock markets while adopting a strategy of phased buying focused on sectors supported by earnings growth."