KOSPI and KOSDAQ Close Lower... Samsung Electronics Barely Holds 60,000 Won

The KOSPI index closed lower amid weakness in semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics' 'earnings shock' for the third quarter of this year.

Employees are working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

On the 8th, the KOSPI closed at 2,594.36, down 16.02 points (0.61%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2,592.65, down 17.73 points (0.68%), and failed to rebound. Foreigners and institutions sold 375.7 billion KRW and 349.6 billion KRW worth of shares, respectively. Individuals bought 692.4 billion KRW worth of shares alone.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, LG Energy Solution (3.93%), KB Financial Group (2.41%), POSCO Future M (1.97%), Samsung Life Insurance (1.37%), and Samsung SDI (0.95%) closed higher. SK Hynix (-3.73%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (-1.96%), Celltrion (-1.19%), Samsung Electronics (-1.15%), Kia (-0.80%), POSCO Holdings (-0.79%), and Samsung C&T (-0.52%) declined. Semiconductor-related stocks, including Samsung Electronics, which closed at 60,300 KRW, SK Hynix, and Hanmi Semiconductor (-3.07%), were generally weak.

Jinhyuk Kang, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., said, "The strong U.S. employment report eased economic concerns, but the long-term market interest rate surpassing 4% acted as downward pressure." He added, "The instability in the Middle East pushed oil prices up again, raising concerns about inflation and interest rate levels."

He further explained, "Before the market opened, Samsung Electronics' preliminary earnings (operating profit of 9.1 trillion KRW) fell short of the market consensus, continuing the semiconductor sell-off." The inflow of funds into the Chinese stock market, which reopened after the National Day holiday, also influenced the KOSPI's downward trend.

By sector, construction (1.15%), services (0.13%), and pharmaceuticals (0.04%) rose. However, telecommunications (-2.63%), textiles and apparel (-1.90%), food and beverages (-1.79%), chemicals (-1.30%), electrical and electronics (-1.04%), and distribution (-1.03%) sectors declined.

The KOSDAQ index recorded 778.24, down 2.77 points (0.35%) from the previous session. The index opened at 776.37, down 4.64 points (0.59%), and mostly remained in a slightly weak range during the session. Foreigners and institutions sold 90.4 billion KRW and 9.3 billion KRW worth of shares, respectively, while individuals bought 101.5 billion KRW worth.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Rigakem Bio (4.45%), Voronoi (4.39%), Alteogen (2.64%), Daewoo Electronics Materials (1.46%), Pearl Abyss (1.43%), and EcoPro (0.54%) rose. On the other hand, Samchundang Pharmaceutical (-5.94%), Silicon Two (-4.79%), HPSP (-3.57%), HLB (-3.53%), Pharma Research (-3.03%), and Classys (-2.68%) fell.