KOSPI Closes Up Over 1%... Ukraine Ceasefire Talks and Tariff Concerns Eased

KOSPI Rises for Third Consecutive Session
KOSDAQ Rebounds After a Day of Decline

On the 13th, the KOSPI closed higher for the third consecutive trading day, supported by institutional buying. Despite the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) exceeding expectations, concerns over tariffs eased and hopes for an end to the Ukraine war overlapped, leading to a gain of over 1%. The KOSDAQ also rebounded after a day and closed higher.

On the 12th, the KOSPI index started the session slightly lower amid concentrated selling by foreign investors. 2025.02.12

On that day, the KOSPI closed at 2,583.17, up 1.36% from the previous day's closing price. Institutions led the index's rise with net purchases of 656.3 billion KRW. Individuals and foreigners sold net amounts of 601.9 billion KRW and 103.4 billion KRW, respectively.

Automobile-related stocks drove the index's rise. Hyundai Motor closed at 208,500 KRW, up 5.25% from the previous session, and Kia also ended the day at 94,300 KRW, up 2.84%. This influx of buyers is interpreted as being influenced by US House Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican, mentioning that automobiles and pharmaceuticals could be excluded from mutual tariffs.

Reconstruction stocks also surged significantly as President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to initiate negotiations to end the Ukraine war. Kumho Construction rose the most at 9.41%, followed by HDC Hyundai Development Company (7.68%), Bumyang Construction (7.40%), Dongshin Construction (7.05%), and GS Construction (6.94%).

Among the top market capitalization stocks, most closed higher except for Celltrion (-0.45%) and NAVER (-2.22%). SK Hynix (4.83%), Samsung Biologics (1.90%), and LG Energy Solution (5.76%) all ended the day up.

The KOSDAQ, which had closed lower the previous day, ended at 749.28, up 0.55% from the previous session. Although institutions sold 63.9 billion KRW, individuals and foreigners led the index's rise with net purchases of 45.2 billion KRW and 26.4 billion KRW, respectively.

Most sectors rose. Non-metallic minerals showed the largest increase at 3.31%, followed by electrical and electronics (2.27%), finance (2.26%), transportation equipment and parts (1.86%), construction (1.35%), and machinery and equipment (1.32%), all closing strong.

Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks, the trends were mixed. Ecopro BM (8.17%), Ecopro (3.86%), and Rainbow Robotics (1.74%) rose, while Alteogen (-1.85%), HLB (-1.46%), and Rigachem Bio (-0.69%) declined.

Ji-won Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, analyzed, “The news that President Trump engaged in calls with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war had a positive impact on the domestic stock market. However, with the Producer Price Index (PPI) being released that day and President Trump announcing he would sign an executive order on mutual tariffs, caution is expected to remain.”