KOSPI Rises Despite Concerns Over Hawkish US Policy

Individual and Foreign Buying, Institutional Selling
KOSPI Major Companies Rise, KOSDAQ Falls

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Amid concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) may continue its hawkish stance, the domestic stock market is rising, supported by net purchases from foreign investors, contrary to worries.

As of 9:14 a.m. on the 7th, the KOSPI is at 2444.87, up 6.68 points (0.27%) from the previous day. Although it initially fell to the 2432 level early in the session, it rebounded as foreign investors switched to net buying. Foreign investors net bought 15.5 billion KRW, and individuals net bought 67 billion KRW. Institutions net sold 80.7 billion KRW. In the futures market, foreign investors are net buyers by 17.6 billion KRW.

Among the top 10 KOSPI stocks by market capitalization, NAVER (1.16%), SK Hynix (0.79%), Kakao (0.77%), Samsung SDI (0.71%), Samsung Electronics (0.65%), Samsung Biologics (0.5%), LG Chem (0.46%), and LG Energy Solution (0.38%) rose. Hyundai Motor (-0.29%) declined.

Rising sectors include pharmaceuticals (0.33%), medical precision instruments (0.22%), and chemicals (0.15%), while declining sectors are steel and metals (-0.62%), telecommunications (-0.60%), textiles and apparel (-0.60%), and securities (-0.58%).

Overnight, the U.S. New York stock market closed lower across the board due to increased pressure for further interest rate hikes. On the 6th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.10%, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 dropped 0.61%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.00%. Currently, Nasdaq 100 futures are up 0.15%.

The KOSDAQ is at 765.82, up 4.49 points (0.59%) from the previous day. Individuals net bought 28.1 billion KRW, while institutions and foreign investors net sold 9.1 billion KRW and 15.9 billion KRW, respectively.

Among the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, EcoPro (1.92%), Kakao Games (1.73%), L&F (1.63%), Pearl Abyss (0.86%), EcoPro BM (0.76%), HLB (0.32%), Celltrion Healthcare (0.17%), and Osstem Implant (0.11%) rose. JYP Ent. (-0.28%) and Rino Industrial (-0.12%) declined.

Rising sectors include digital content (0.91%), IT components (0.81%), and general electrical and electronics (0.68%), while declining sectors are telecommunications services (-0.83%), information devices (-0.59%), and transportation (-0.51%).

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the USD/KRW exchange rate is trading at 1258.10 KRW, up 5.3 KRW from the previous trading day.