KOSPI Ends Slightly Higher as Foreign Investors Turn to Net Buying

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The KOSPI index closed higher as foreign investors, who had been selling, turned to net buying.

On the 11th, the KOSPI index closed at 2,525.36, up 7.51 points (0.3%) from the previous day. Trading volume was 424.67 million shares, and the trading value was tentatively estimated at 7.9728 trillion KRW.

By investor type, institutions and foreigners net sold 163.2 billion KRW and 5.2 billion KRW respectively, while individuals net bought 198.9 billion KRW. In program trading, net buying occurred with 118.4 billion KRW in arbitrage trading and 205.4 billion KRW in non-arbitrage trading.

In the early session, the KOSPI index fluctuated around the flat line but expanded its gains in the afternoon as the scale of foreign net selling decreased. However, cautious sentiment remained ahead of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the release of U.S. and China’s real economy indicators, and futures and options expiration.

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, analyzed, “Semiconductor stocks showed an upward trend, with SK Hynix’s fourth-quarter operating profit expected to turn positive. Expectations for strengthening semiconductor alliances were fueled by the state visit to the Netherlands and the visit to ASML.”

By sector, most closed higher. Textile and apparel rose 2.4%, machinery 1.6%, pharmaceuticals 0.79%, food and beverages 0.6%, and telecommunications 0.59%. On the other hand, steel and metals fell 0.8%, medical precision -0.6%, and construction -0.5%.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, more closed higher. Samsung SDS rose 3.8%, and SK Hynix increased 1.1%. The leading stock Samsung Electronics also rose 0.5%, and Hyundai Motor, Kia, Samsung C&T, Kakao, and Hyundai Mobis closed strong. Conversely, POSCO Holdings fell 0.9%, and Samsung Biologics, Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, KB Financial Group, and Shinhan Financial Group also closed weaker.

The KOSDAQ index showed strength on the day. It closed at 835.25, up 4.88 points (0.59%) from the previous day. By investor type, institutions net bought 106.3 billion KRW, while foreigners and individuals net sold 50.1 billion KRW and 29.1 billion KRW respectively.

The top 30 market capitalization stocks showed mixed movements. Lunit rose 5.5% on news that it published research results in Nature’s sister journal, Scientific Reports, showing that its AI chest X-ray image analysis solution, Lunit Insight CXR, improved the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. EcoPro BM, Classys, HLB, and WCP also closed strong. Meanwhile, Wemade, POSCO DX, L&F, HPSP, Soulbrain, SM, and Dongjin Semichem declined.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the KRW/USD exchange rate closed at 1,316.5 won, up 9.7 won from the previous day.