[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] On December 1, the first trading day of the month, the KOSPI opened higher and surpassed the 2,500 mark for the first time in about three months. This appears to be influenced by the U.S. stock market closing higher across the board after Jerome Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), hinted at a slowdown in the pace of monetary tightening.
As of 9:10 a.m. that day, the KOSPI was at 2,492.68, up 0.81% (20.15 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 2,501.43, up 1.17% (28.90 points) from the previous day. It was the first time since August 19, about three months ago, that the KOSPI surpassed the 2,500 level during intraday trading. However, the upward momentum slowed shortly after the opening, and the index fell back below the 2,500 level.
Foreign and individual investors are leading the index's rise with net buying. Foreigners and individuals purchased stocks worth 29.3 billion KRW and 21.6 billion KRW, respectively. Conversely, institutional investors are net sellers, offloading stocks worth 49.7 billion KRW.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, semiconductor and growth stocks are showing significant gains. Samsung Electronics is trading at 63,000 KRW, up 1.29% (800 KRW) from the previous day, and SK Hynix is up 2.47% (2,100 KRW) at 87,100 KRW. Samsung Electronics Preferred Shares (Samsung Electronics 우) are also rising by 2.15%. Representative growth stock NAVER is trading at 192,000 KRW, up 2.67% (5,000 KRW) from the previous day. LG Energy Solution is the only major stock trading lower, down 0.68% (4,000 KRW) at 583,000 KRW.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is at 741.20, up 1.60% (11.66 points) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ opened at 740.97, up 1.57% (11.43 points) from the previous day.
In the KOSDAQ market, institutional investors are increasing their net buying. Institutions are purchasing stocks worth 39.3 billion KRW, standing as the sole net buyers. Individual and foreign investors are selling stocks worth 36.3 billion KRW and 1.2 billion KRW, respectively.
Among the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ, all are showing gains. EcoPro BM is trading at 116,100 KRW, up 2.02% (2,300 KRW) from the previous day. Other secondary battery-related stocks such as L&F (2.50%), EcoPro (2.57%), Lino Industrial (2.57%), and Cheonbo (1.99%) are also strong. Game stocks like Kakao Games (2.30%) and Pearl Abyss (2.41%) are rising as well.
The rise in the domestic stock market on this day seems to be influenced by the major indices in the U.S. New York stock market closing higher the previous day. The U.S. stock market saw a significant rise, with the Nasdaq index up 4.41%, after Fed Chairman Powell hinted at the possibility of slowing the pace of interest rate hikes.
In a speech at the Brookings Institution the day before, Chairman Powell said, "The time to slow the pace of rate hikes could come as early as December," suggesting that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting next month might decide on a big step (0.50 percentage point increase) instead of a giant step (0.75 percentage point increase) in the benchmark interest rate.
With the possibility of slowing the pace of rate hikes presented, growth stocks, which are highly sensitive to interest rates, are expected to perform strongly in the domestic market. Ji-young Han, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, predicted, "Just as big tech and growth stocks like Apple, Alphabet, and Tesla showed strong gains due to the sharp drop in market interest rates in the U.S. stock market, growth stocks such as platforms and software are expected to perform well in the domestic market as well."
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