KOSPI and KOSDAQ Fall Over 1%... Drop Below 2500 Level After Five Days

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices, which started off declining, widened their losses in the early session, recording a drop of over 1%. The KOSPI index fell below the 2500 mark for the first time in five days.

As of 9:33 a.m. on the 18th, the KOSPI stood at 2488.09, down 1.13% (28.38 points) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2499.30, down 0.68% (17.17 points) from the previous day, and continued its downward trend. Looking at investor trends, individual investors were the sole net buyers with purchases worth 135.1 billion KRW, while foreign investors and institutions sold stocks worth 24.2 billion KRW and 113.2 billion KRW, respectively.

All of the top 10 stocks by market capitalization were in decline. Samsung Electronics (-0.33%), LG Energy Solution (-1.32%), SK Hynix (-1.65%), Samsung Biologics (-0.23%), LG Chem (-0.91%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (-1.07%), Samsung SDI (-2.38%), NAVER (-2.71%), Hyundai Motor (-3.16%), and Kakao (-2.50%) all showed losses.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was down 1.19% (9.87 points) from the previous trading day, standing at 817.55. The index opened at 822.71, down 0.57% (4.71 points). By investor type, individual investors were again the sole net buyers with purchases worth 100.7 billion KRW, while foreign investors and institutions sold stocks worth 72.8 billion KRW and 23.7 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks on the KOSDAQ, only HLB recorded a gain of 0.34%, while the rest were uniformly down. Celltrion Healthcare (-2.07%), EcoPro BM (-1.26%), L&F (-0.08%), Kakao Games (-2.58%), Pearl Abyss (-2.43%), Celltrion Pharm (-2.44%), Alteogen (-1.71%), EcoPro (-0.93%), and Chunbo (-1.83%) all declined.