Early session hits 2500, steady around 2490
Individual investors switch after 5 days, buying 50.3 billion KRW
'Value-Up Program' positive for the market
The KOSPI index is showing a flat trend below the 2500 level.
As of 11:42 AM on the 31st, the KOSPI is trading at 2490.83, down 7.98 points (0.32%) from the previous session. The KOSPI index opened at 2487.90, down 10.91 points from the previous trading day, reached an early session high of 2502.45, and is now moving around the 2490 level.
By investor type, individuals alone bought stocks worth 50.3 billion KRW. After four consecutive trading days of selling, individuals switched to buying after five days. Meanwhile, foreigners sold stocks worth 32.5 billion KRW, and institutions sold 18.4 billion KRW.
By sector, all sectors except pharmaceuticals (0.05%), non-metallic minerals (0.01%), machinery (0.19%), transportation equipment (1.09%), distribution (1.22%), telecommunications (0.24%), and finance (0.60%) are declining. Medical precision (-2.57%), services (-1.79%), and textiles and apparel (-1.00%) are showing declines of over 1%.
By individual stocks, 237 stocks are rising, 634 stocks are falling, and 63 stocks are unchanged. Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung C&T (3.78%), POSCO DX (3.06%), Hanwha Aerospace (4.09%), and HD Hyundai (3.07%) are showing gains of over 3%. IT sector stocks such as NAVER (-3.82%) and Kakao (-2.21%) are underperforming.
On the previous day (local time), the U.S. stock market closed mixed ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) results. Major big tech companies such as Apple (-1.93%), Google (-1.16%), Microsoft (-0.28%), Amazon (-1.40%), and Meta (-0.24%) saw slight declines. Nvidia (0.4%) and Tesla (0.3%) closed higher.
The KOSDAQ index is trading at 804.14, down 14.72 points. By investor type, individuals bought stocks worth 172.8 billion KRW. Foreigners sold 118.9 billion KRW, and institutions sold 48.5 billion KRW.
Hansol Inticube is the only stock hitting the upper limit price, rising 29.77%. Most of the top market capitalization stocks are declining. In particular, all of the top 10 stocks are falling. HLB (-2.72%), Lino Industrial (-5.42%), and Rainbow Robotics (-3.27%) are showing declines of over 2%.
Research analysts Yuseungmin and Kwon Beomseok of Samsung Securities said, "It seems difficult to break through the upper end of the box range within a short period since the second half of last year," adding, "The 'Value-Up Program' to be announced soon by financial authorities is positive for the market, and the pressure to improve excessively undervalued companies will contribute to easing the discount in the Korean stock market." The two analysts identified three key points for investment in February: ▲ a defensive portfolio suitable for the monetary policy transition period ▲ stocks with high visibility of earnings achievement such as profit growth compared to the previous year ▲ healthcare, software, semiconductors, and essential consumer goods sectors showing excessive declines due to external variables.
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