Investor Sentiment Improves on Easing of Tariff War Concerns
On April 23, the domestic stock market closed higher across the board. Institutional buying was prominent, buoyed by a rebound in the U.S. stock market the previous day.
On this day, the KOSPI finished trading at 2,525.56, up 38.92 points (1.57%). It was the first time in three weeks that the KOSPI recovered the 2,500 mark since April 2. Earlier in the session, the index opened at 2,520.56, up 33.92 points (1.36%). While individual investors and foreign investors sold off 548.9 billion won and 196.1 billion won worth of shares, respectively, institutions were net buyers of 686 billion won.
On this day, the KOSPI was led by semiconductor and secondary battery stocks, following the rebound of U.S. tech stocks. Hanmi Semiconductor (14.29%), Ecopro Materials (8.60%), SKC (7.83%), POSCO DX (7.40%), Samsung SDI (7.39%), and POSCO Future M (6.67%) all posted gains. The KOSPI’s “one-two punch,” Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, also closed strongly, rising by about 1% and 4%, respectively. In contrast, defense stocks such as Hyundai Rotem (-4.54%), Korea Aerospace Industries (-3.37%), Hanwha Aerospace (-1.93%), and Hanwha Vision (-1.68%), as well as food stocks like Samyang Foods (-3.64%), saw declines. SK Telecom’s share price fell by 2.04% following news of a personal data hacking incident.
Kim Jiwon, a researcher at KB Securities, commented, "Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced that he would reduce government-related duties and focus on management starting in May, which had a positive impact on domestic secondary battery stocks. While buying was concentrated in large-cap stocks with excessive declines, including semiconductors such as SK hynix, defensive stocks, domestic demand stocks, and sectors not affected by tariffs (such as telecommunications, food and beverage, retail, entertainment, and defense) showed relative weakness."
On the same day, the KOSDAQ ended at 726.08, up 9.96 points (1.39%). The index started at 724.33, up 8.21 points (1.15%), and extended its gains as both foreign and institutional investors increased their buying. Foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 44.3 billion won and 32 billion won, respectively, while individuals sold off 67.8 billion won.
Most of the top KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization also closed higher. Ecopro BM (6.98%), Ecopro (4.97%), HLB (4.49%), Rainbow Robotics (1.42%), Samchundang Pharm (1.29%), Legochem Bio (1.16%), and ABL Bio (1.02%) all saw their share prices rise. In contrast, Classys (-1.26%) and PharmaResearch (-0.14%) ended lower.
The market is now closely watching the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations, which will begin at 8 a.m. on April 24 (U.S. time). Lee Jaewon, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., analyzed, "If a favorable outcome is reached, a recovery is expected for stocks that had suffered significant declines due to concerns over potential damage."
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