Foreigners Turn to Last-Minute Buying... KOSPI Closes Slightly Lower

KOSPI down 0.14% to 2437.86
KOSDAQ down 0.63% to 733.56

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The domestic stock market closed slightly lower on the 25th. Although foreigners switched to buying at the last minute in the KOSPI market, the market failed to rebound.

On the day, the KOSPI index closed at 2,437.86, down 3.47 points (0.14%) from the previous day. Foreigners, who had been selling since early in the session, switched to buying just before the close, purchasing about 49.7 billion KRW worth of shares. Institutions also net bought about 33 billion KRW. On the other hand, individuals net sold about 116.3 billion KRW, limiting the rebound.

The index, which opened slightly higher, fluctuated within a narrow range as expectations for a slowdown in interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) were priced in, while the U.S. stock market was closed the previous day. Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Although foreigners focused on net selling early in the session, causing the won-dollar exchange rate to rise by more than 10 won compared to the previous day, U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar index fell, and foreign buying strengthened."

There is also an analysis that psychological pressure was at play as the KOSPI index rose near the year's high of 2,500 the previous day. Lee Jin-woo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, "It seems that the market entered a wait-and-see mode as the Monetary Policy Committee decided on interest rates as expected yesterday. The market sharply rebounded in early November, reaching the previous high before pulling back, and there is a possibility of attempting a breakthrough depending on the results of the December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)."

The steel and metal sector, which saw concentrated net buying by foreigners and institutions, showed the largest gain at 2.64%, and the electric and gas sector also rose 1.71% amid expectations of winter rate hikes.

In particular, POSCO Holdings rose 2.07% due to institutional buying, entering the top 10 in KOSPI market capitalization. LG Energy Solution (0.53%), Samsung Biologics (0.78%), and Samsung SDI (0.69%) also recorded gains. SK Innovation closed up 3.85% on news that its battery manufacturing subsidiary SK On is strengthening its nickel supply chain with EcoPro and China's Gurinmei (GEM).

On the other hand, Samsung Electronics fell 0.65%, and SK Hynix dropped 2.07%. LG Chem (-0.96%), Hyundai Motor (-0.90%), NAVER (-1.60%), and Kia (-0.76%) closed lower.

The KOSDAQ index also fell 4.66 points (0.63%) to 733.56. Individuals and institutions net bought about 30 billion KRW and 12.9 billion KRW respectively, but foreigners sold about 28.7 billion KRW, pulling the index down.

This is attributed to profit-taking following the preemptive pricing of a slowdown in interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB). Kim Seok-hwan of Mirae Asset Securities said, "Although foreigners focused on net selling early in the session, causing the won-dollar exchange rate to rise by more than 10 won compared to the previous day, U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar index fell, and foreign buying strengthened."

Wemade, which boosted its corporate value by launching the cryptocurrency WEMIX last year, recorded a decline following news that domestic virtual asset exchanges decided to delist it. Its affiliates Wemade Max and Wemade Play also closed at their lower limits.

Among the top market capitalization stocks on KOSDAQ, EcoPro BM closed up 4.23%, and L&F (0.38%) and Chunbo (0.12%) recorded slight gains. EcoPro turned down just before the close, ending down 0.69%.

HLB fell 4.32%, and Kakao Games dropped 3.71%. Celltrion Healthcare (-2.12%), Pearl Abyss (-1.79%), and Celltrion Pharm (-2.06%) showed weakness, while Ligno Industrial, which showed an intraday upward trend, closed flat.