Foreigners Sell, Domestic Investors Also 'Sell' in Stock Market... Market Cap of '40,000 Won Electronics' Falls Below 300 Trillion (Comprehensive)

KOSPI Closes Slightly Higher at 2418.86
Samsung Electronics Closing Price 49,900 Won
Lowest in 4 Years and 5 Months
Individuals Also Turn to 'Sell'

On the 14th, the KOSPI closed slightly higher despite selling pressure from foreigners and individual investors. Foreigners continued their net selling in the KOSPI market for five consecutive trading days since the 8th. Samsung Electronics showed an upward trend during the day but fell just before the market closed, ending at "40,000 won electronics" for the first time in 4 years and 5 months.

The KOSPI closed at 2,418.86, down 0.07% (1.78 points) from the previous day. It opened at 2,430.26, up 0.55% (13.18 points) from the previous session.

Foreigners and individuals net sold 271.4 billion won and 69.5 billion won, respectively. Foreigners sold for five consecutive trading days, and individuals turned to selling after three days of net buying. Only institutions net bought 276.1 billion won. In the futures market, foreigners and individuals bought 159.1 billion won and 58.2 billion won, respectively, while institutions sold 206.2 billion won.

Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, semiconductor weakness was prominent. Samsung Electronics, ranked first in market cap, closed at 49,900 won, down 1.38% from the previous day. Foreigners sold Samsung Electronics worth 477.244 billion won in a single day.

This shows a decline in foreign investors' sentiment. Foreigners have recorded net selling for 12 consecutive trading days since October 30. As a result, the stock price touched its lowest level in 4 years and 5 months since the closing price of 49,900 won on June 15, 2020. Market capitalization also fell below 300 trillion won.

On the same day, Mirae Asset Securities lowered Samsung Electronics' target price from 110,000 won to 84,000 won. Kim Young-geon, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, stated, "It is hard to deny that optimistic expectations about the commercialization timing of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) dominated," adding, "We acknowledge the failure of that prediction."

SK Hynix closed at 173,000 won, down 5.41% from the previous day, ranking first in the decline rate. KB Financial also closed down 1.21% at 89,900 won. On the other hand, NAVER rose 3.46%, LG Energy Solution 2.43%, Kia 1.87%, and Shinhan Financial Group 0.89% in order of highest gains.

The KOSDAQ closed at 681.56, down 1.17% (8.98 points) from the previous day. It opened at 694.16, up 0.65% (4.51 points) from the previous session but turned downward in the afternoon. Foreigners and individuals net sold 3 billion won and 124.3 billion won, respectively, dragging the index down. Only institutions net bought 137.9 billion won.

Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, only Alteogen rose 4.74%, Hugel 3.79%, Classys 2.13%, and HLB 0.83%.

Kim Dae-jun, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, analyzed, "The KOSPI gave back its gains despite relief over the U.S. October Consumer Price Index (CPI) and verbal intervention by foreign exchange authorities," adding, "The market reflected the confirmation of the red sweep more strongly."