Foreigners Sell and Institutions Buy... KOSPI Shows Mixed Trends in Early Trading Session

On the morning of the 19th, the KOSPI index, which recorded a significant rise last week overcoming fears of an economic recession, showed mixed trends ahead of domestic and international political and macroeconomic issues.

Employees are working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul, while various indices are displayed on the electronic board. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

As of 9:25 a.m. that day, the KOSPI was trading at 2,699.28, up 2.05 points (0.08%) from the previous day. The KOSPI opened at 2,697.97, up 0.74 points (0.03%). Currently, foreigners have sold stocks worth 72.6 billion KRW. Institutions and individuals are net buying stocks worth 77.8 billion KRW and 400 million KRW, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Life Insurance (5.41%), Hana Financial Group (2.95%), Shinhan Financial Group (2.52%), KB Financial Group (2.62%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (2.21%), Samsung Biologics (2.04%), Meritz Financial Group (1.80%), and Hyundai Motor Company (1.18%) are on the rise. On the other hand, Samsung Electronics (-1.75%), SK Hynix (-1.45%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (-1.39%), Samsung SDI (-0.78%), and LG Energy Solution (-0.59%) are declining.

By industry sector, insurance (1.91%), transportation equipment (1.54%), medical precision (1.39%), services (1.37%), and pharmaceuticals (1.24%) sectors are rising. Conversely, electrical and electronics (-1.53%), food and beverages (-1.01%), manufacturing (-0.47%), and machinery (-0.33%) sectors are falling.

On the 16th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 40,659.76, up 96.70 points (0.24%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 index rose 11.03 points (0.20%) to 5,554.25, and the Nasdaq Composite index closed at 17,631.72, up 37.22 points (0.21%).

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index recorded 788.43, up 2.10 points (0.27%) from the previous session. The index opened at 787.32, up 0.99 points (0.13%), then turned downward before resuming an upward trend. Foreigners and institutions are net selling stocks worth 40.9 billion KRW and 600 million KRW, respectively. Individuals bought stocks worth 41.8 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, ST Pharm (6.42%), Hugel (6.25%), Enchem (2.37%), Daewoo Electronics Materials (1.06%), Rainbow Robotics (0.89%), and Ligachem Bio (0.88%) are rising. Meanwhile, Rinogong (Rino Industry) (-2.93%), Pharma Research (-2.55%), Celltrion Pharm (-2.38%), Pearl Abyss (-1.80%), HLB (-1.76%), and EcoPro (-1.45%) are declining.

On this day, Kiwoom Securities researchers Han Ji-young and Kim Ji-hyun said, "The domestic stock market is expected to continue a volatile phase from the beginning of the week," and predicted, "The weekly KOSPI expected range is between 2,630 and 2,760." They also explained, "The domestic stock market has entered the sphere of political and macroeconomic influences such as whether investment in election-related assets will expand after the U.S. Democratic National Convention, remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the upcoming annual economic policy symposium (Jackson Hole Meeting), and major countries' manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)."