KOSPI Near Seollal Closes Higher on Foreign and Institutional 'Buy'

Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, on the 8th, the KOSPI index closed higher, supported by simultaneous buying from foreigners and institutions. The securities industry expects that, influenced by U.S. tech stocks and anticipation of the value-up program, the domestic stock market will likely stabilize around the 2600 level for the time being.

Securities company app, stock trading scene. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On that day, the KOSPI index closed at 2620.32, up 10.74 points (0.41%) from the previous day. In the stock market, foreigners and institutions net bought 411.4 billion KRW and 300.2 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals were the sole sellers, offloading stocks worth 714.9 billion KRW. Notably, foreigners showed net buying for six trading days from the 1st of this month through that day.

The rise in "undervalued stocks with low price-to-book ratios (PBR)," which attracted demand following the announcement of the corporate value-up program, continued that day as well. Hyundai Motor rose 2.04%, while KB Financial Group (4.48%) and Shinhan Financial Group (3.03%) closed higher.

Among the top market capitalization stocks in KOSPI, SK Hynix (3.48%) and LG Energy Solution (2.07%) increased. Samsung Electronics (-1.20%), Samsung Biologics (-1.33%), and Kia (-1.31%) declined. Noroo Paint hit the upper price limit following news of launching adhesives and coatings that reduce the risk of secondary battery fires.

By sector, notable gains were seen in non-life insurance (+5.36%), publishing (+4.08%), specialty retail (+3.36%), education services (+2.67%), and chemicals (+2.65%).

Ji-won Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "Domestically, while low PBR stocks faced profit-taking, secondary batteries showed a strong rebound, leading to a differentiated performance with KOSPI rising 0.19% and KOSDAQ up 1.45%, marking KOSDAQ's first gain in five weeks. Influenced by the strong U.S. tech stocks and expectations for the value-up program, the domestic stock market is expected to stabilize around the 2600 level for the time being."

On the same day, the KOSDAQ index closed at 826.58, up 14.66 points (1.81%). In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners were the sole buyers, purchasing 141.7 billion KRW. Individuals and institutions showed net selling of 112 billion KRW and 22.4 billion KRW, respectively.

EcoPro BM (5.64%) and EcoPro (11.92%) rose sharply following the previous day. In EcoPro's case, despite deteriorating earnings, the announcement of a stock split the day before acted as a positive factor. Alteogen (0.13%) also showed an upward trend.

Conversely, HLB (-3.83%), Shinseong Delta Tech (-2.30%), and Soulbrain (-0.55%) closed lower. By sector, non-life insurance (5.36%), publishing (4.08%), and specialty retail (3.36%) rose, while air cargo transportation and logistics (-2.88%), shipping companies (-2.22%), and electric utilities (-1.73%) declined.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1328.2 won, up 0.4 won from the previous day.