Foreigners as 'Lions'... KOSPI Ends Slightly Higher

Thanks to the buying spree by foreigners, the KOSPI index managed to close slightly higher on the 10th.

After continuously hitting new highs, the KOSPI turned down the previous day, but on the 9th, it started with a rise of more than 10 points, drawing attention to whether it will break through the 2900 level during the week. Employees are working in the dealing room at the Seoul Hana Bank headquarters. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

On that day, the KOSPI closed at 2867.99, up 0.61 points (0.02%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI started at 2863.05, down 4.33 points (0.15%), but rallied in the latter part of the session. Individuals and institutions sold net amounts worth 279.3 billion KRW and 307.4 billion KRW respectively, while foreigners bought alone worth 598.2 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, NAVER (3.98%), Samsung Life Insurance (3.98%), Samsung Biologics (1.38%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (1.16%), Kakao (0.71%), and LG Electronics (0.64%) rose. Conversely, Samsung SDI (-2.48%), KB Financial Group (-1.88%), LG Chem (-1.79%), Celltrion (-1.34%), POSCO Holdings (-1.21%), and POSCO Future M (-1.15%) declined.

By sector, insurance (3.23%), pharmaceuticals (0.57%), non-metallic minerals (0.57%), services (0.56%), and textiles & apparel (0.32%) sectors rose. On the other hand, electricity & gas (-1.38%), medical precision (-1.27%), food & beverages (-0.96%), steel & metals (-0.86%), and chemicals (-0.77%) sectors fell.

The KOSDAQ index recorded 858.55, down 1.87 points (0.22%) from the previous session. The index started at 859.01, down 1.41 points (0.16%), and failed to rebound. Foreigners and institutions sold net amounts worth 62.8 billion KRW and 100.3 billion KRW respectively. Individuals bought 172.8 billion KRW worth.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Pearl Abyss (3.03%), Alteogen (2.86%), Hugel (2.71%), Samchundang Pharm (2.39%), Silicon투 (2.33%), and Lino Industrial (1.90%) rose. Conversely, EO Technics (-3.10%), Enchem (-2.95%), Ligand Chem Bio (-2.26%), EcoPro BM (-2.22%), and Daewoo Electronics Materials (-2.12%) declined.

Ji-won Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "The cautious stance in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets was highlighted as the market digested Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks on interest rates during the Senate hearing. Market attention shifted to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to be released on the night of the 11th. Since some cooling trends were detected in recent employment indicators, if the June CPI confirms a slowdown in inflation, the possibility of an interest rate cut in September could become a foregone conclusion, making the results important."

She added, "The KOSPI maintained a flat trend for three trading days due to the burden of breaking the yearly high and caution ahead of the CPI announcement. On the 11th, with the Korean Monetary Policy Committee meeting and options expiration day, volatility could increase during the session, so preparation is necessary."