"Rise Limited as US-China Tariff Easing Already Priced In"
Despite the tariff agreement between the United States and China, the KOSPI index ended with a slight gain as investors remained cautious.
The KOSPI index closed at 2,608.42 on the 13th, up 1.09 points (0.04%) from the previous day. The index opened at 2,601.76, down 5.57 points (0.21%), but managed to rebound before giving up most of its gains in the afternoon. Foreign investors were net buyers of 173.4 billion won, while institutions and individuals were net sellers of 91.0 billion won and 136.9 billion won, respectively.
Among large-cap stocks, HMM (up 5.81%), HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (up 3.66%), Hanwha Ocean (up 1.97%), SK Hynix (up 1.79%), Celltrion (up 1.65%), Kia (up 1.41%), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 1.24%) posted gains. In contrast, LG Energy Solution (down 2.95%), POSCO Holdings (down 2.09%), Hanwha Aerospace (down 1.95%), Hyundai Mobis (down 1.53%), Samsung Electronics (down 1.22%), and NAVER (down 1.05%) declined.
By sector, transportation and storage (up 3.10%), general services (up 2.54%), medical precision instruments (up 1.60%), securities (up 1.32%), machinery and equipment (up 1.16%), and pharmaceuticals (up 1.09%) showed strength. On the other hand, electric and gas (down 3.07%), metals (down 2.47%), paper and wood (down 1.96%), non-metals (down 1.05%), construction (down 1.03%), and IT services (down 1.02%) were weak.
Kim Jiwon, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "Expectations for a US-China tariff reduction had already been priced in, leading the KOSPI to take a breather today." Kim also noted, "Hanjin KAL hit the upper limit after news broke that Hoban Group had increased its stake to 18.46%."
On the 13th, despite the news of a sharp rise in the US New York stock market following the US-China mutual tariff agreement, the KOSPI started slightly lower. The status board in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, displays the KOSPI and the won/dollar exchange rate. On this day, the KOSPI opened at 2,609.16, up 1.83 points from the previous session, while the won/dollar exchange rate started at 1,415.0 won, up 12.6 won. 2025.5.13 Photo by Cho Yongjun
The KOSDAQ index closed at 731.88, up 6.48 points (0.89%) from the previous session. The index opened at 731.11, up 5.71 points (0.79%). Foreign investors were net buyers of 40.9 billion won, institutions bought a net 59.4 billion won, while individuals were net sellers of 87.2 billion won.
Among the top KOSDAQ market cap stocks, Peptron (up 13.80%), Samchundang Pharm (up 8.50%), Lino Tech (up 6.04%), Alteogen (up 3.57%), ABL Bio (up 3.35%), Legochem Bio (up 2.78%), Rainbow Robotics (up 2.01%), HPSP (up 1.71%), Classys (up 1.55%), Pearl Abyss (up 1.14%), and SM (up 1.00%) rose. On the other hand, Kolon TissueGene (down 7.41%), Silicon Two (down 4.19%), EcoPro BM (down 3.42%), and EcoPro (down 1.57%) declined.
Researcher Kim commented, "The KOSDAQ was strong, led by a rebound in pharmaceutical and biotech stocks. Although the pharmaceutical and biotech sector had been weak the previous day due to former US President Donald Trump's announcement of an executive order to lower drug prices, the sector rebounded today amid industry analysis that the impact on domestic companies would be minimal compared to major US and European pharmaceutical firms, as well as doubts about the feasibility of the order."
Robot-related stocks were generally strong. In particular, Eugene Robot hit the upper limit after news that Jang Dongui, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at KAIST and an outside director at Eugene Robot, had joined the presidential campaign of Lee Jaemyung of the Democratic Party of Korea.
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