[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The KOSPI index is on a downward trend due to net selling by foreigners and institutions.
As of 9:20 a.m. on the 15th, the KOSPI index was recorded at 2,454.10, down 11.54 points (0.47%) from the previous day. The index opened at 2,473.09, up 7.45 points (0.30%), but then turned downward. Individuals made net purchases worth approximately 133.1 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold about 89.2 billion KRW and 48.3 billion KRW, respectively.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, most are weak except for LG Energy Solution (1.71%) and Hyundai Motor (0.35%). Kakao and NAVER fell more than 2%.
By sector, most declined except for non-metallic minerals (0.88%) and steel & metals (0.83%). The weakest sectors were services (-1.53%), finance (-1.13%), textiles & apparel (-0.96%), securities (-0.96%), and pharmaceuticals (-0.78%).
On the 14th (local time), the U.S. stock market closed mixed as the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase exceeded market expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 156.66 points (0.46%) to 34,089.27, the large-cap S&P 500 index closed down 1.16 points (0.03%) at 4,136.13, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index rose 68.36 points (0.57%) to close at 11,960.15.
The U.S. January CPI rose 6.4% year-over-year, slightly down from the 6.5% increase in the previous month. It continued a seven-month trend of slowing growth but exceeded the market forecast of 6.2%. On a month-over-month basis, it rose 0.5%, a larger increase than December's 0.1%.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index rose slightly, recording 780.74, up 1.16 points (0.15%) from the previous day. Individuals made net purchases worth 84.7 billion KRW, while foreigners and institutions sold about 24.3 billion KRW and 60 billion KRW, respectively.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, EcoPro rose more than 6%, recording the largest gain. Following were EcoPro BM up 2.99%, and L&F up 2.64%, highlighting the rise in secondary battery-related stocks. SM also rose 2.05%. On the other hand, Pearl Abyss (-2.69%), HLB (-2.33%), and Kakao Games (-1.80%) declined.
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