KOSPI Drops Over 2% Intraday Amid Heavy Selling by Foreigners

On the 31st, when the KOSPI index fell below the 2500 mark amid the resumption of short selling after a 17-month full ban since November 2023, dealers were working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2025.3.31. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The KOSPI index is showing a decline of over 2% during the session, pressured by heavy selling from foreign investors.

As of 10:22 AM on the 31st, the KOSPI index is trading at 2501.57, down 2.2% from the previous day.

By investor type, institutions and individuals are net buyers of 75.2 billion KRW and 413.5 billion KRW respectively, while foreigners are net sellers of 523.9 billion KRW. In the futures market, institutions and individuals are net buyers of 591.4 billion KRW and 108 billion KRW respectively, whereas foreigners are net sellers of 652 billion KRW.

Most sectors are in decline. The medical precision instruments sector is down 3.12%, followed by electrical and electronics -3.08%, chemicals -3.1%, machinery equipment -3.19%, IT services -2.71%, manufacturing -2.52%, pharmaceuticals -2.39%, distribution -2.12%, securities -1.92%, non-metallic minerals -1.93%, general services -1.73%, metals -1.68%, and textiles and apparel -1.53%. In contrast, the construction sector is slightly up by 0.11%.

Most of the top market capitalization stocks are also down. Samsung Electronics is down 2.49%, SK Hynix -3.41%, LG Energy Solution -5.62%, Samsung Biologics -2.48%, Hyundai Motor -2.83%, Celltrion -2.37%, Kia -3.25%, NAVER -2.0%, Hyundai Mobis -2.24%, Shinhan Financial Group -1.46%, POSCO Holdings -4.11%, and Meritz Financial Group -1.79%. On the other hand, KB Financial Group is slightly up by 0.38%, Hanwha Aerospace by 0.95%, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries by 1.25%.

The KOSDAQ index is also showing weakness. At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 685.74, down 1.14% from the previous day. By investor type, institutions and individuals are net buyers of 63.9 billion KRW and 5 billion KRW respectively, while foreigners are net sellers of 70.1 billion KRW.

The top market capitalization stocks show mixed movements. Alteogen is up 4.82%, Rainbow Robotics 2.06%, Hugel 1.04%, Samchundang Pharmaceutical 0.53%, and Pharma Research 0.59%. Conversely, EcoPro BM is down 4.73%, HLB -2.1%, EcoPro -8.98%, Classys -2.06%, and Kolon TissueGene -6.12%.

Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the KRW/USD exchange rate is trading at 1469.1 KRW, down 0.8 KRW from the previous day.