[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] On the 19th, the KOSPI opened below the 2600 mark, dropping nearly 2%. This is attributed to the previous day’s sharp decline in the U.S. New York stock market due to inflation concerns and deteriorating earnings of major retailers. Institutional investors have been net sellers for two consecutive days, including the previous day. The KOSDAQ index is also down more than 2%.
As of 9:25 a.m., the KOSPI stood at 2,577.18, down 48.80 points (1.86%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2,576.24, down 49.74 points (1.89%) from the previous day, and has been moving sideways since. By investor type, individual investors are buying 86.2 billion KRW alone, while foreigners and institutions are selling 16.3 billion KRW and 65.6 billion KRW, respectively.
All of the top 10 stocks by market capitalization on the KOSPI market are in the red. Samsung Electronics is down 1.32%, trading at 67,200 KRW. Naver (NAVER) has the largest decline, down 2.71%. Others showing declines include ▲LG Energy Solution (-1.22%) ▲SK Hynix (-2.64%) ▲Samsung Biologics (-0.88%) ▲Samsung Electronics Preferred (-0.50%) ▲Samsung SDI (-2.32%) ▲Hyundai Motor (-2.16%) ▲Kakao (-2.66%) ▲LG Chem (-2.44%).
All sectors are also in decline. Notable drops include textiles and apparel (-3.10%), services (-2.61%), and banking (-2.47%).
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index stood at 853.92, down 17.65 points (2.03%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ opened at 853.23, down 18.34 points (2.10%). By investor type, individuals and foreigners are net buyers of 3.2 billion KRW and 33.5 billion KRW, respectively, while institutions are net sellers of 34.4 billion KRW alone.
All of the top 10 stocks by market capitalization on the KOSDAQ are also declining. HLB stands out with a 6.31% drop from the previous day. Others in decline include ▲EcoPro BM (-2.65%) ▲L&F (-0.20%) ▲Celltrion Healthcare (-3.03%) ▲Kakao Games (-3.00%) ▲Pearl Abyss (-2.41%) ▲Celltrion Pharm (-3.64%) ▲Cheonbo (-0.96%) ▲Rino Industries (-1.35%) ▲CJ ENM (-2.15%).
Most KOSDAQ sectors are also down. Large declines are seen in transportation (-3.23%), digital content (-3.22%), and paper & wood (-3.00%).
The securities industry uniformly issued negative outlooks on the market today. Sangyoung Seo, Head of Media Content at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The sharp drop in the U.S. stock market due to the issue of rising corporate costs caused by high inflation will negatively impact the Korean stock market. Attention should also be paid to the fact that inflation highlighting recession issues could lead to downward revisions of earnings estimates for Korean companies, which are highly dependent on exports."
Ji-young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, also advised, "With intraday volatility and daily fluctuations in major countries’ stock markets significantly increasing beyond usual levels, market timing strategies have become difficult. Therefore, it is appropriate to respond with observation rather than rapid trading based on the day’s market sentiment. A strategy of gradually buying large-cap stocks that can maintain profitability in a high exchange rate and inflation environment could be an alternative."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
