Foreigners and Institutions 'Buy'... KOSPI Starts Higher, Returns to 2470 Level

KOSDAQ Falls 0.36%

Supported by buying pressure from foreigners and institutions, the KOSPI index recovered to the 2470 level on the morning of the 18th.

As of 9:35 a.m. that day, the KOSPI was trading at 2471.12, up 14.31 points (0.58%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2463.06, up 6.25 points (0.25%), and continued its upward trend. Currently, foreigners are net buying worth 57.3 billion KRW, and institutions are net buying worth 28 billion KRW. Individuals sold alone worth 88.7 billion KRW.

Employees are working in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Euljiro, Seoul. Photo by Huh Young-han

Among the top market capitalization stocks, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (3.76%), Kia (3.13%), Hyundai Motor (2.91%), Hyundai Mobis (2.51%), KB Financial (2.01%), Shinhan Financial Group (1.75%), NAVER (1.43%), and POSCO Holdings (1.52%) are rising. SK Hynix (-0.71%), Korea Zinc (-0.90%), Samsung Biologics (-0.82%), Samsung Life Insurance (-0.61%), and LG Energy Solution (-0.26%) are declining.

By sector, transportation equipment (2.56%), machinery equipment (1.01%), manufacturing (0.70%), chemicals (0.58%), electrical and electronics (0.58%), telecommunications (0.58%), and finance (0.57%) are rising. On the other hand, medical precision (-1.26%), real estate (-0.61%), electricity and gas (-0.59%), securities (-0.55%), entertainment and culture (-0.44%), and pharmaceuticals (-0.39%) sectors are declining.

On the 17th (local time), the blue-chip-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 267.58 points (0.61%) at 43,449.9. After surpassing 45,000 for the first time ever earlier this month, the Dow has fallen for nine consecutive trading days, marking the longest decline since 1978, 46 years ago. The large-cap-focused S&P 500 index fell 23.47 points (0.39%) to 6,050.61, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index dropped 64.83 points (0.32%) to 20,109.06.

Regarding the New York stock market, Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Despite last month's U.S. retail sales showing a robust 0.7% increase, exceeding expectations, concerns about a slowdown in the Fed's rate cut pace have spread." He added, "In particular, attention is focused on the outcome of this week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting related to interest rate decisions."

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index recorded 691.95, down 2.52 points (0.36%) from the previous session. The index opened at 694.94, up 0.47 points (0.07%). Foreigners and institutions sold worth 38.2 billion KRW and 20.9 billion KRW, respectively. Individuals bought worth 70.3 billion KRW.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Sinseong Delta Tech (7.88%), EcoPro BM (1.44%), Hugel (1.30%), EcoPro (1.04%), Celltrion Pharm (0.50%), and JYP Ent. (0.58%) are rising. Conversely, Lunit (-5.85%), Peptron (-5.12%), Kolon TissueGene (-4.98%), PharmaResearch (-2.89%), Ligand Bio (-2.47%), Silicon Two (-1.94%), and Alteogen (-1.66%) are declining.