[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] On the 17th, the KOSPI index fell due to massive selling by institutional investors, closing at the 2370 level.
On this day, the KOSPI index closed at 2379.39, down 0.85% (20.47 points) from the previous session. The index opened at 2400.92, up 0.04% (1.06 points) from the previous trading day, and rose to the 2404.00 level during the session but soon turned downward.
By investor type, individuals and foreigners net bought stocks worth 128.2 billion KRW and 180.8 billion KRW respectively. In contrast, institutions net sold stocks worth 311.1 billion KRW, pulling the index down.
On this day, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1238.7 KRW, up 3.4 KRW, showing weakness in the Korean won.
The market appeared to face downward pressure as profit-taking emerged following a short-term surge since the beginning of the year.
Also, during the session, news was released that China's GDP grew 3.0% year-on-year last year, exceeding market expectations, but it was insufficient to lift the index.
Among the top 10 KOSPI market capitalization stocks, all closed lower except SK Hynix (0.23%). Samsung Electronics (-0.16%), LG Energy Solution (-4.68%), Samsung Biologics (-1.73%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (-0.36%), LG Chem (-2.98%), Samsung SDI (-1.28%), Hyundai Motor (-0.30%), NAVER (-3.49%), and Kakao (-4.19%) all declined.
Lee Kyungmin, a researcher at Daishin Securities, explained, "Although China's economic indicators exceeded expectations, the absolute figures suggest that time is needed for China's economic recovery. The weakness in the Greater China stock markets today reflects some retracement of earlier optimism, and since uncertainty still exists, caution is still necessary."
By sector, service industries (-2.12%), pharmaceuticals (-2.10%), medical precision (-1.76%), and steel & metals (-1.35%) saw significant declines. Insurance (1.42%) and transportation & warehousing (0.95%) rose.
The KOSDAQ index closed at 709.71, down 1% (7.18 points) from the previous session.
KOSDAQ opened at 716.70, down 0.03% (0.19 points) from the previous session, showed some intraday gains but then widened its losses.
By investor type, foreigners and institutions net sold stocks worth 72.2 billion KRW and 133.5 billion KRW respectively. Meanwhile, individuals bought stocks worth 215.1 billion KRW.
Among the top KOSDAQ market capitalization stocks, EcoPro BM (-0.90%), Celltrion Healthcare (-2.53%), L&F (-3.09%), Kakao Games (-4.56%), HLB (-2.34%), EcoPro (-1.46%), Pearl Abyss (-1.23%), Celltrion Pharm (-2.54%), and Studio Dragon (-1.63%) declined.
On this day, the trading value on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets was 6.206 trillion KRW and 6.1605 trillion KRW respectively.
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