KOSPI Closes Up Over 1%... Foreigners and Institutions 'Buy'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The KOSPI and KOSDAQ closed with gains of over 1%. In the latter part of the session, strong buying from institutional investors lifted the indices.

On the 29th, the KOSPI closed at 2,433.39, up 1.04% (25.12 points) from the previous day. The KOSPI started the day at 2,405.54, down 0.11% (2.73 points), fluctuated throughout the morning, but maintained strength as institutions switched to buying.

Foreign investors and institutions net purchased 63.2 billion KRW and 316.8 billion KRW respectively. Foreigners bought 209.8 billion KRW in the futures market. Individual investors alone net sold 390.9 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Biologics closed flat. LG Chem fell 0.56%, and Samsung SDI dropped 1.24%. Meanwhile, Kia rose 2.91%, and Kakao increased 2.38%.

The KOSDAQ also ended the day at 727.54, up 1.34% (9.64 points) from the previous day. It started at 715.02, down 0.40% (2.88 points), but after fluctuating, it finished with gains.

Similarly, foreign investors and institutions net purchased 116 billion KRW and 52.9 billion KRW respectively on the KOSDAQ. Individual investors alone net sold 166.5 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks on the KOSDAQ, only HLB fell 2.11% and Rino Industrial dropped 0.47%. Ecopro led the gains with a 3.92% increase, followed by Celltrion Pharm 2.95%, Kakao Games 2.90%, and Pearl Abyss 2.58%.

Kim Dae-jun, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, analyzed, "The session started mixed due to hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials, but the index rebounded supported by expectations of eased COVID-19 restrictions in China and net buying by institutions. The KOSDAQ was driven by large-cap biotech and secondary battery-related stocks."