Korean Stock Market Takes a Breather... KOSPI Closes Lower After 8 Days

The Korean stock market, which had been on a recent upward trend, showed a pause on the 20th and closed lower.

On that day, the KOSPI closed at 2654.06, down 17.46 points (0.65%) from the previous day. The index opened at 2661.72, down 9.80 points (0.37%), and failed to rebound. Foreign investors sold stocks worth 270 billion KRW, and institutions sold 121.5 billion KRW. Individual investors bought stocks worth 297.7 billion KRW.

On the 20th, the KOSPI index, which had been rising consecutively, started lower, and the status board in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul, displayed the KOSPI index and the KRW/USD exchange rate. On that day, the KOSPI opened at 2661.72, down 0.37% from the previous session, and the KRW/USD exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market started strong, rising more than 2 won. 2025.2.20 Photo by Jo Yong-jun

Among the top market capitalization stocks, POSCO Holdings (3.87%), Meritz Financial Group (3.02%), LG Energy Solution (2.87%), and SK Innovation (1.08%) rose. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-11.96%), Hanwha Ocean (-6.78%), Samsung Life Insurance (-4.98%), SK Hynix (-2.97%), Shinhan Financial Group (-2.37%), and Samsung C&T (-1.26%) declined.

By sector, electricity and gas (2.66%), telecommunications (2.09%), entertainment and culture (1.62%), and metals (1.59%) rose. Conversely, transportation equipment parts (-2.71%), insurance (-2.57%), machinery equipment (-2.35%), general services (-2.29%), and construction (-2.05%) sectors fell.

Ji-won Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "The KOSPI fell for the first time in eight trading days due to profit-taking in leading sectors. In particular, the shipbuilding sector plunged sharply as investment opinions were downgraded due to valuation concerns."

However, following news that the Chinese government would lift restrictions related to the Hanhanryeong (ban on Korean Wave content) in May, stocks related to entertainment, media, and cosmetics surged. This marks about eight years since the Hanhanryeong was imposed as retaliation for South Korea's deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) in 2017.

The KOSDAQ index closed at 768.27, down 10.00 points (1.28%) from the previous session. The index opened at 777.78, down 0.49 points (0.06%), and the decline widened. Foreigners and institutions sold 220.5 billion KRW and 123.2 billion KRW respectively. Individual investors bought 352.4 billion KRW alone.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Enchem (13.29%), Kolon TissueGene (5.73%), SM Entertainment (5.08%), and JYP Ent. (1.73%) closed higher. On the other hand, Sinseong Delta Tech (-5.93%), HLB (-3.98%), Peptron (-3.65%), Rainbow Robotics (-3.54%), HPSP (-3.50%), and Pharma Research (2.65%) declined.

Researcher Kim added, "Although the KOSPI showed a correction after rising about 6% over the past seven trading days, the upward trend is expected to continue. The dollar and U.S. Treasury yields are stabilizing downward, and market reactions to tariffs are more limited due to learning effects."