KOSPI Ends Strong as Institutions and Foreigners Buy Amid Base Rate Hold...

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] The KOSPI index closed higher, supported by buying from institutions and foreigners following the decision to keep the base interest rate unchanged.

On the 23rd, the KOSPI index closed at 2439.09, up 21.41 points (0.89%) from the previous day.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

By investor type, institutions and foreigners were net buyers of 289.2 billion KRW and 13.7 billion KRW respectively, driving the rise, while individuals showed a net selling of 332.3 billion KRW. Program trading saw net selling of 6.4 billion KRW in arbitrage trading and 43.1 billion KRW in non-arbitrage trading.

Despite the possibility of further rate hikes raised at the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee and the strengthening of the dollar following the minutes of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released the previous day, the KOSPI index rose due to net buying by foreigners mainly in futures and arbitrage buying by institutions.

In particular, the related sector surged nearly 6% influenced by news from Nvidia about increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips amid strong performances of large-cap stocks leading the index rise. Additionally, property and casualty insurers rose about 5% on average following news of strong fourth-quarter earnings driven by improved loss ratios.

By industry, most sectors closed higher. The insurance sector rose 3.23%, transportation and warehousing 2.1%, food and beverages 1.92%, electrical and electronics 1.32%, transportation equipment 1.27%, finance 1.18%, securities 1.06%, and construction 1.02%. Conversely, the medical precision sector fell 2%, steel and metals -0.91%, telecommunications -0.89%, and non-metallic minerals -0.64% showed weakness.

Most large-cap stocks also showed strength. Samsung Electronics rose 1.47%, SK Hynix 4.04%, Samsung Biologics 0.13%, LG Chem 0.3%, Hyundai Motor 1.15%, NAVER 0.95%, and Kia 2.55%. Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution remained slightly down by 0.2%, and Samsung SDI fell 0.44%.

The KOSDAQ index closed higher, driven by strong buying from individuals. The KOSDAQ index ended at 783.28, up 4.77 points (0.61%) from the previous day.

By investor type, institutions and foreigners were net sellers of 200 million KRW and 8.8 billion KRW respectively, while individuals recorded net buying of 19.2 billion KRW.

Most large-cap stocks on the KOSDAQ also showed strength. Celltrion Healthcare rose 0.36%, EcoPro 2.11%, HLB 2.47%, Kakao Games 0.94%, SM Entertainment 4.29%, and Pearl Abyss 1.1%. Conversely, EcoPro BM fell 3.3%, L&F -3.4%, and Osstem Implant -4.19% also declined.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won/dollar exchange rate closed at 1297.1 won, down 7.8 won from the previous day.