KOSPI Attempts to Settle in the 2,630 Range Amid Cautious Sentiment... KOSDAQ Turns Weak

On May 16, the domestic stock market showed mixed movements in early trading.

As of 9:30 a.m. on this day, the KOSPI was trading at 2,627.90, up 6.54 points (0.25%) from the previous day. The index opened at 2,630.64, rising 9.28 points (0.35%) earlier. Foreign investors and institutions purchased 43.6 billion won and 6.1 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while individual investors alone recorded a net selling of 42.0 billion won.

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Among large-cap stocks by market capitalization, performance was mixed. Hanwha Ocean (2.24%), SK Hynix (2.24%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (2.04%), Hanwha Aerospace (1.46%), Kia (0.66%), Shinhan Financial Group (0.39%), and Hyundai Motor (0.36%) were on the rise. In contrast, LG Energy Solution (-3.26%), Hyundai Mobis (-1.18%), Samsung Electronics (-0.70%), Celltrion (-0.59%), KB Financial Group (-0.32%), and NAVER (-0.32%) were declining.

On the same day, the KOSDAQ was trading at 726.97, down 6.26 points (0.85%). The index started at 734.38, up 1.15 points (0.16%), but soon turned weak. While individual investors recorded a net buying of 66.5 billion won, foreign investors and institutions sold 53.2 billion won and 16.5 billion won worth of shares, respectively.

Among leading stocks by market capitalization, Rino Industrial (2.69%), PharmaResearch (1.22%), Rigachem Bio (0.39%), Rainbow Robotics (0.33%), Peptron (0.27%), and Hugel (0.14%) were strong. On the other hand, Classys (-5.54%), Kolon TissueGene (-1.75%), Alteogen (-1.51%), Ecopro (-1.31%), ABL Bio (-1.30%), HLB (-1.06%), and Ecopro BM (-0.62%) were weak.

By industry, food and beverages rose by 3.88%, driven by Samyang Foods' rise to "emperor stock" status. Utilities (1.74%), game software (1.73%), other capital goods (1.57%), machinery (1.53%), shipbuilding (0.89%), construction (0.80%), telecommunications services (0.80%), and electrical equipment (0.74%) were also on the rise. In contrast, computers (-7.89%), electrical products (-2.68%), telecommunications equipment (-2.20%), toys and leisure (-1.94%), chemicals (-1.42%), health (-1.19%), life sciences (-1.08%), and electronic equipment (-1.08%) were on the decline.