Tesla's Strong Earnings Boost Secondary Battery Stocks
KOSDAQ Also Up Nearly 1%
Exchange Rate Down 1.0 Won from Previous Close
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The KOSPI index recovered to the 2460 level for the first time in over two months. Foreign investors and institutions showed buying momentum, resulting in a gain of more than 1.6%.
As of the 26th, the KOSPI index closed at 2468.65, up 40.08 points (1.65%) from the previous trading day. This marked the first time since December 2 of last year that it surpassed the 2460 level. The index opened at 2436.18, up 7.61 points (0.31%), but gave back its gains and turned downward, falling to as low as 2426.40. However, it then reversed to an upward trend, with continued buying from foreign investors and institutions shifting from net selling to net buying, expanding the gains. Foreign investors and institutions purchased approximately 811.1 billion KRW and 247.6 billion KRW worth of stocks respectively, while individual investors were the sole net sellers with about 1.051 trillion KRW sold.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, all showed gains except Samsung Biologics (-0.38%). LG Energy Solution, which is approaching the end of its employee stock ownership lock-up period this month, led the gains with a 6.82% increase, buoyed by strong performance in Tesla and secondary battery stocks. Tesla announced on the 25th (local time) that its Q4 revenue reached $24.32 billion (30.7 trillion KRW) and net profit was $3.69 billion (4.56 trillion KRW), representing a 36% increase in revenue and a 59% increase in net profit compared to the same period last year. Following LG Energy Solution, Kia (6.62%), Hyundai Motor (5.55%), LG Chem (5.06%), Samsung SDI (3.54%), Kakao (1.76%), Naver (0.99%), SK Hynix (0.98%), and Samsung Electronics (0.79%) also rose. On this day, Hyundai Motor disclosed that its operating profit for last year was 9.819769 trillion KRW, which is not only a 47% increase from the previous year but also an all-time high.
By sector, Posco Chemical, which received government approval to export core high-nickel cathode material technology, surged more than 14%, leading non-metallic minerals to rise 9.16%. Transportation equipment (4.06%), steel & metals (2.65%), manufacturing (2.10%), electrical & electronics (2.04%), and chemicals (1.87%) also showed strong performance.
Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "Tesla's solid earnings and positive news on individual stocks drove the strength in secondary battery and automobile stocks overall," adding, "Foreign investors recorded net buying for 10 consecutive trading days in the KOSPI, contributing to the recovery of investor sentiment." He further noted, "The index rise and Canada's indication of a pause in interest rate hikes reflected expectations for a slowdown in global rate increases, which led to a weaker dollar."
On the same day, the USD/KRW exchange rate opened at 1232.0 KRW, up 0.3 KRW from the previous day's close, but closed at 1230.7 KRW, down 1.0 KRW.
The KOSDAQ index also closed at 738.94, up 6.59 points (0.90%) from the previous day. After opening at 734.37, up 2.02 points (0.28%), it extended its gains. Foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 100.3 billion KRW and 40.3 billion KRW respectively, while individual investors were net sellers of 124.9 billion KRW.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, L&F, expected to benefit from Tesla's price cuts, rose more than 8%. This was followed by EcoPro (6.13%), EcoPro BM (3.64%), Pearl Abyss (1.54%), L&F (1.01%), Celltrion Pharm (0.91%), Celltrion Healthcare (0.85%), and HLB (0.80%). On the other hand, Kakao Games (-0.32%) and Osstem Implant (-0.16%) declined.
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