Foreigners and Institutions Pull in 1.4 Trillion Won 'Dual Buying'... KOSPI Soars to Yearly High

2824.94, Closing at Yearly High
Foreigners and Institutions Net Buy of 1.4 Trillion, Individuals Net Sell of 1.4 Trillion
Samsung Electronics Leads Index with Rare Strength Ahead of Earnings Announcement

Fueled by simultaneous buying by foreigners and institutions and the strength of the 'blue-chip' Samsung Electronics, the KOSPI index closed at its highest point of the year.

Employees are working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 4th, as the KOSPI index closed at 2,824.94, up 30.93 points (1.11%) from the previous session, marking its highest level since January 21, 2022 (2,834.29). Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

On the 4th, the KOSPI closed at 2,824.94, up 30.93 points (1.11%) from the previous session. This is the highest closing price this year. The previous yearly high was 2,804.31 on the 1st.

By investor type, foreigners and institutions net bought 321.3 billion KRW and 1.1106 trillion KRW respectively, totaling 1.4319 trillion KRW. Meanwhile, individuals net sold 1.4129 trillion KRW.

By sector, securities (3.21%), insurance (2.21%), medical precision (1.97%), finance (1.80%), and steel & metals (1.55%) showed particularly strong performance. Conversely, food & beverages (-0.76%) and machinery (-0.58%) were weak.

486 stocks rose, 389 stocks fell, and 57 stocks were unchanged. Samsung Electronics, which accounts for about 20% of the KOSPI market capitalization, led the index higher with a 3.42% increase. Buying appeared to surge ahead of the tentative earnings announcement scheduled for the 5th. On the other hand, SK Hynix fell 2.54%.

Among the other top 10 market cap stocks, Kia (1.54%), KB Financial (1.78%), POSCO Holdings (1.21%), and Shinhan Financial Group (2.74%) rose more than 1%. Shinhan Financial Group overtook NAVER to become the 10th largest by market cap. Financial stocks were strong due to tax support policies related to the corporate value-up program announced the previous day. Hanmi Science, where management rights issues reignited, closed up 6.58%.

Kang Jin-hyuk, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., said, "With expectations for earnings to be announced tomorrow, foreigners and institutions showed simultaneous net buying, Samsung Electronics closed near its high, and materials and parts stocks were also strong. After the government’s value-up incentive announcement yesterday, value-up sectors continued to show strength today, and many financial stocks hit new highs."

The KOSDAQ index closed at 840.81, up 4.71 points (0.56%) from the previous day.

By investor type, individuals and foreigners bought 5.4 billion KRW and 20.6 billion KRW respectively, while institutions net sold 21.5 billion KRW.

667 stocks rose, 881 stocks fell, and 112 stocks were unchanged. Among the top 10 market cap stocks, HLB recorded the highest gain (6.90%). This was influenced by news of the renewed push for FDA approval of its liver cancer drug. KOSDAQ’s largest market cap stock Ecopro BM and second largest Alteogen fell 1.05% and 0.58%, respectively.