KOSPI Fluctuates Between Heaven and Hell, Closes Up 1.8%

Recent Inflow of Contrarian Buying Amid 'Panic Selling'
Institutions and Individuals Net Buyers... Foreigners Continue Net Selling

Samsung Electronics Up 2.8%, SK Hynix Up 6.1% at Close
Secondary Battery Sector Weak, LG Energy Solution Down 10.8%

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices closed the session with significant gains. Both markets showed a downward trend in the morning, deepening their losses, but turned sharply upward in the afternoon and ended with gains.

On the 28th, the KOSPI closed at 2,663.34, up 1.87% (48.85 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI fell below the 2,600 level in the morning, showing a decline close to 0.9%. However, it quickly rebounded and showed an upward trend. Toward the end of the session, as institutional investors increased their net buying, the index rose by about 2% and closed higher.

The market's rise is analyzed to be due to a rebound buying influx following recent panic selling and a reduction in the supply-demand imbalance caused by LG Energy Solution. Lee Kyung-min of Daishin Securities stated, "Excluding the decline in LG Energy Solution, the KOSPI's rise is more pronounced," adding, "The possibility of entering a normalization phase from an oversold phase caused by overreaction to U.S. monetary policy and supply-demand disruption factors has increased."

In the KOSPI market that day, foreigners alone sold stocks worth 693.1 billion KRW, while individuals and institutions sold stocks worth 267.1 billion KRW and 391.4 billion KRW, respectively. By sector, the largest gains were seen in Medical Precision (8.24%), Construction (5.89%), Distribution (4.3%), Textile & Apparel (4.14%), and Food & Beverage (3.77%). Hyundai Construction surged more than 9% following the decision to postpone the listing of Hyundai Engineering. Domestic consumption-related sectors also showed strength in the market that day.

By individual stocks, semiconductor leaders Samsung Electronics (2.81%) and SK Hynix (6.17%) led the index gains with significant rises. Institutions and individuals bought 922,549 and 489,941 shares of Samsung Electronics, respectively, while foreigners sold 1,477,486 shares. SK Hynix was accumulated by both institutions and foreigners, with net purchases of 297,444 and 737,572 shares, respectively.

The sluggishness in the secondary battery sector, centered on LG Energy Solution, weighed on the KOSPI. LG Energy Solution traded down 10.89% at 450,000 KRW, while Samsung SDI (-1.86%) and SK IE Technology (-9.45%) also declined. Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, analyzed, "The expanded selling pressure on LG Energy Solution, downward revisions of Samsung SDI's first-quarter earnings forecasts, concerns over earnings slowdown, and Tesla's stock price decline caused by these factors led to a sector-wide downturn."

Among other large-cap stocks, NAVER (2.31%), Samsung Biologics (3.79%), LG Chem (4.75%), Kakao (3.67%), Kia (3.67%), and KB Financial Group (2.59%) rose.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index rose 2.78% (23.64 points) to 872.87 compared to the previous trading day. The index fell more than 1% in the morning but drew a steep upward curve in the afternoon. Regarding investor trends, foreigners and institutions bought stocks worth 75.8 billion KRW and 77.4 billion KRW, respectively, while individuals sold stocks worth 158.8 billion KRW alone.

By market capitalization, Celltrion Healthcare (4.17%), EcoPro BM (0.67%), Pearl Abyss (1.07%), HLB (6.55%), Celltrion Pharm (4.29%), and Seegene (3.42%) rose. Conversely, as gaming stocks weakened, Wemade (-8.06%) and Com2uS (-6.59%) declined.