Foreigners' 'Palja' leads KOSPI down 0.24%... Exchange rate surpasses 1300 won

Breaking Below 2400 During Trading
KOSDAQ Closes Higher on Individual Buying

The KOSPI index closed lower for the second consecutive trading day as foreigners recorded a selling dominance and concerns about the financial system emerged.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 27th, the KOSPI index closed at 2409.22, down 5.74 points (0.24%) from the previous trading day. The index started the day at 2423.94, up 8.98 points (0.37%), but then turned downward. It fell to as low as 2395.97 during the session but narrowed the losses to recover above the 2400 level. Individuals and institutions bought approximately 45.7 billion KRW and 68.2 billion KRW worth of stocks respectively, while foreigners net sold about 103.9 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, POSCO Holdings recorded the largest gain, rising more than 3%. LG Chem rose 1.16%, and LG Energy Solution, buoyed by increased expectations for earnings growth, also rose 0.88%. Samsung SDI closed up 0.56%. On the other hand, SK Hynix and Kia fell 2.06%, followed by Naver (-1.58%), Samsung Electronics (-1.43%), and Hyundai Motor (-0.90%). Samsung Biologics remained flat.

By sector, transportation and warehousing (-1.15%), construction (-0.96%), services (-0.85%), and securities (-0.80%) showed weakness. Conversely, steel and metals (1.83%), electricity and gas (1.67%), chemicals (1.25%), non-metallic minerals (1.06%), and pharmaceuticals (0.85%) rose.

On the day, the won-dollar exchange rate rose into the 1300 won range, closing at 1301.5 won, up 7.2 won from the previous trading day. This marked the second consecutive day of gains.

The KOSDAQ index closed higher. It ended at 827.69, up 3.58 points (0.43%) from the previous trading day. After opening at 827.95, up 3.84 points (0.47%), it turned downward to 817.81 but then reversed to rise again. During the session, it climbed to 829.18, closely approaching the 830 level. Individuals net bought about 414.9 billion KRW worth of stocks, while foreigners and institutions net sold approximately 305.2 billion KRW and 111.6 billion KRW respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, L&F surged more than 10% on prospects of securing new clients. This was followed by Celltrion Healthcare (3.48%), Celltrion Pharm (2.59%), Rainbow Robotics (0.50%), and Osstem Implant (0.11%). On the other hand, EcoPro (-3.73%), EcoPro BM (-3.00%), HLB (-2.72%), Kakao Games (-1.58%), and Pearl Abyss (-1.19%) declined. SM, which recorded a final tender offer competition rate of 2.27 to 1, fell 15.02%.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "Despite selling pressure from foreigners and institutions, individual buying defended the market, and KOSDAQ maintained its gains." He added, "The won-dollar exchange rate surpassed 1300 again, reflecting won weakness." He further noted, "Concerns about the financial system resurfaced due to Deutsche Bank's liquidity crisis, and a preference for safe assets was reflected."