Foreigners 'Buy Korea' After 6 Trading Days... KOSPI Closes Up 1.34%

Foreigners net buy 683.3 billion KRW... Individuals sell 458.8 billion KRW
Semiconductor tailwind from TSMC... Samsung Electronics rises over 4%
'Ecopro Brothers' and other secondary battery stocks continue decline

The KOSPI index rebounded by over 1% as foreigners switched to buying after six trading days.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 19th, the KOSPI index closed at 2472.74, up 32.70 points (1.34%) from the previous trading day. This was the largest gain this year and the first time it rose for two consecutive days. The previous day's closing price was 2440.04, up 4.14 points (0.17%). The KOSPI opened at 2468.43, up 28.39 points from the previous day, reached a high of 2479 in early trading, and then fluctuated around the 2460 level. It settled above the 2470 level near the end of the session.

Foreign investors, who had been net sellers for five consecutive trading days from the 12th to the 18th, selling a total of 1.4758 trillion KRW during that period, turned to net buying after six trading days, driving the index higher. They purchased 683.3 billion KRW alone. Meanwhile, individuals sold 458.8 billion KRW and institutions sold 232.7 billion KRW. Individuals, who had recorded nearly 1 trillion KRW in net buying combined on the 17th (850.9 billion KRW) and 18th (121.3 billion KRW), engaged in short-term profit-taking.

The 'semiconductor tailwind' in the U.S. stock market, driven by TSMC's strong earnings reported the previous day (local time), also extended to the domestic market. Samsung Electronics (4.18%) and SK Hynix (3.74%) closed with gains exceeding 3%. Among other large-cap stocks, Samsung Electro-Mechanics (6.19%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (4.17%), Krafton (4.88%), and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (7.8%) rose more than 4%. On the other hand, secondary battery-related stocks continued to underperform. LG Energy Solution (-1.79%) and POSCO Future M (-2.11%) closed lower.

521 stocks ended higher, 347 stocks closed lower, and 69 stocks were unchanged. By sector, the electric and electronics sector led with a 2.76% increase, followed by manufacturing (1.80%), medical precision (1.71%), and pharmaceuticals (1.24%). All sectors except telecommunications (-0.06%), food and beverages (-0.18%), chemicals (-0.31%), and transportation and warehousing (-0.51%) posted gains.

Joon-ki Cho and Jae-hyun Kang, researchers at SK Securities, said, "The positive news from TSMC was partially reflected at the end of yesterday's session, but after the explosive reaction in the U.S. market, there was a stronger response today. The combined contribution of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to the KOSPI's rise today reached 84.4%, indicating a semiconductor-driven rally." The two researchers added, "Although it is still too early to be fully confident, the recent easing of the foreigners' ultra-strong selling pressure, which played a major role in the undervaluation compared to the global market, is definitely a positive factor."

The KOSDAQ index closed at 842.67, up 2.34 points (0.28%).

By investor type, foreigners and institutions bought 20.7 billion KRW and 170.8 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals sold 168.5 billion KRW alone.

1023 stocks ended higher, 525 stocks closed lower, and 86 stocks were unchanged. Among the large-cap stocks, HPSP (8.51%), Rainbow Robotics (3.95%), Rino Industrial (5.47%), and EO Technics (13.52%) closed higher. JYP Ent., which announced that Park Jin-young purchased 5 billion KRW worth of its own shares, rose 1.82%. On the other hand, secondary battery-related stocks such as EcoPro BM (-3.63%), EcoPro (-4.96%), and L&F (-4.32%) closed lower.