[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The KOSPI index started lower on the 4th, briefly falling below the 2200 level during the session, but closed around the 2250 level thanks to foreign buying.
On the day, the KOSPI index closed at 2255.98, up 1.68% (37.30 points). This marks the first gain in five trading days since the 27th of last month. The index opened at 2205.98, down 0.57% (12.70 points) from the previous close, and fell as low as 2198.82 during the session before turning upward in the morning session.
By investor type, foreign investors led the buying, purchasing stocks worth 261.2 billion KRW. Institutions also net bought stocks worth 1 billion KRW. Conversely, individual investors net sold stocks worth 297.2 billion KRW.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1271.7 won, up 0.7 won from the previous day. The opening rate was 1280.5 won, up 9.5 won from the previous close, but the intraday rise narrowed, supporting foreign demand.
Notably, the leading stocks Samsung Electronics (4.33%) and SK Hynix (7.14%) rose sharply, supporting the index's increase.
This is interpreted as an improvement in investment sentiment toward semiconductor stocks following the government's announcement of strengthened semiconductor investment tax support measures the previous day.
The market is closely watching the soon-to-be-released minutes of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The Fed's stance on the trade-off between job creation and price stability, and specific opinions on how much unemployment they can tolerate, will be important. The content of the minutes will influence the direction of the stock market."
Among the top 10 by market capitalization, besides Samsung Electronics and Hynix, LG Energy Solution (0.57%), Hyundai Motor (0.94%), NAVER (2.24%), and Kakao (4.50%) also rose.
Samsung Biologics (-1.12%), Samsung SDI (-0.33%), and Kia (-0.64%) were weak.
By sector, the largest gains were seen in Electric & Electronics (3.24%), Construction (3.35%), Medical Precision (2.93%), Securities (2.92%), Finance (2.71%), and Insurance (2.03%). Conversely, Food & Beverage (-2.55%), Textile & Apparel (-0.48%), Chemicals (-0.40%), and Pharmaceuticals (-0.31%) declined.
The KOSDAQ closed at 683.67, up 1.29% (8.72 points). The index opened at 670.18, down 0.71% (4.77 points), but turned upward during the morning session along with the KOSPI.
By investor type, individuals bought stocks worth 29.9 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold stocks worth 17.4 billion KRW and 14.2 billion KRW, respectively.
Among the top market cap stocks, EcoPro BM (1.18%), Celltrion Healthcare (0.35%), Pearl Abyss (4.02%), and L&F (2.30%) rose.
L&F (-0.38%), HLB (-1.05%), Celltrion Pharm (-0.46%), and Studio Dragon (-6.21%) closed lower.
On the day, the daily trading value was 6.4087 trillion KRW on the KOSPI market and 4.9811 trillion KRW on the KOSDAQ market.
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