Foreigners' Fate... KOSPI Falls to the 2550 Level

Samsung Biologics 4.95%↑
SK Hynix, 10.20%↓

Due to selling pressure from foreigners, the KOSPI index fell to the 2550 level on the morning of the 19th. In particular, the decline in semiconductor stocks was prominent.

Despite the Federal Reserve's 'big cut' of lowering the benchmark interest rate by 0.5% for the first time in 4 years and 6 months, concerns about an economic recession remain, leading the New York stock market to close lower across the board. On the 19th, after the Chuseok holiday, the KOSPI opened at 2,594 points, up 17 points, then slightly declined, while the KOSDAQ maintained a slight upward trend. Employees are working in the dealing room at the Seoul Hana Bank headquarters. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

As of 10:30 a.m. that day, the KOSPI was trading at 2552.36, down 23.05 points (-0.90%) from the previous day. The index opened at 2594.67, up 19.26 points (0.75%), but soon turned bearish. Currently, foreigners have sold 735.7 billion KRW worth of stocks. Individuals and institutions are net buying 315.3 billion KRW and 396.4 billion KRW worth, respectively.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Samsung Biologics (4.95%), LG Electronics (3.83%), Hyundai Motor (2.53%), Celltrion (2.41%), Samsung Life Insurance (2.26%), Meritz Financial Group (2.15%), and Hana Financial Group (1.65%) are rising. SK Hynix (-10.20%), Samsung Electronics (-2.80%), LG Chem (-2.64%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (-2.10%), LG Energy Solution (-1.63%), and POSCO Holdings (-1.22%) are declining.

By sector, pharmaceuticals (3.33%), transportation equipment (1.31%), insurance (0.65%), finance (0.57%), and securities (0.23%) are rising. On the other hand, electrical and electronics (-3.32%), medical precision (-2.22%), manufacturing (-1.42%), and chemicals (-1.13%) sectors are declining.

On the 18th (local time), the U.S. Federal Reserve held a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and decided to lower the upper bound of the benchmark interest rate from 5.5% to 5.0%, a 50 basis point cut (1bp = 0.01 percentage points). Subsequently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed at 41,503.10, down 103.08 points (0.25%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 index fell 16.32 points (0.29%) to 5,618.26, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 17,573.30, down 54.76 points (0.31%) from the previous session.

Regarding this, Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "The key after entering the interest rate cut cycle is whether the current economy will go into a recession or achieve a soft landing." He added, "At this point, the possibility of a soft landing is high. The Fed proactively implemented a big cut prioritizing risk amid visible economic slowdown and weak employment." However, he also said, "In a situation where distrust of the economy and fear of recession remain, time is needed to verify the U.S. economy."

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index recorded 730.89, down 2.31 points (-0.32%) from the previous session. The index opened at 738.41, up 5.21 points (0.71%), but turned slightly bearish around 10:25 a.m. Foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 118.7 billion KRW and 23.9 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals sold 133.8 billion KRW worth.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Rigachem Bio (6.17%), Alteogen (6.10%), ST Pharm (5.01%), Pharma Research (3.62%), Hugel (2.36%), and Pearl Abyss (1.36%) are rising. On the other hand, Enchem (-3.60%), EO Technics (-2.65%), Silicon Two (-2.71%), and EcoPro BM (-1.76%) are declining.