KOSPI Closes Down 0.84%, Falls Below 2,700 Mark

Foreigners and Institutions Both Sell
Significant Declines in Construction and Machinery Sectors

The KOSPI closed slightly lower, falling back below the 2,700 mark. This appears to be due to profit-taking after the recent upward trend.

On May 30, the KOSPI finished trading at 2,697.67, down 0.84% from the previous day. Although it had surpassed the 2,700 level for the first time since August 23 of last year based on the previous day's closing price, it mostly trended downward after the market opened today.

By investor type, foreigners and institutions recorded net sales of 689.7 billion won and 44.4 billion won, respectively. Individuals recorded net purchases of 725.8 billion won.

The majority of sectors declined. There were significant drops of more than 2% in sectors such as construction (-2.77%), machinery and equipment (-2.69%), and transportation equipment and parts (-2.02%). Other declining sectors included securities (-1.80%), transportation and storage (-1.61%), distribution (-1.13%), and metals (-1.04%). In contrast, electric and gas utilities (2.62%) and pharmaceuticals (0.92%) rose.

Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, more declined than rose. Hanwha Aerospace fell the most, dropping 4.9%. This was followed by Kia (-3.6%), SK Hynix (-3.5%), Hyundai Motor (-2.8%), and LG Energy Solution (-0.6%). On the other hand, KB Financial Group (1.1%), Celltrion (1.0%), Samsung Electronics (0.3%), and Samsung Biologics (0.1%) rose. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries closed unchanged from the previous day.

The KOSDAQ also ended lower, closing at 734.35, down 0.26% from the previous day. After a slightly weak start, it briefly turned upward in the morning but then began to decline again, ultimately closing lower.

Similarly, foreigners and institutions recorded net sales of 131.0 billion won and 400 million won, respectively, while individuals recorded net purchases of 130.1 billion won.

More sectors declined than rose. Non-metallic minerals (-1.93%), entertainment and culture (-1.51%), machinery and equipment (-1.47%), publishing and media reproduction (-1.34%), and transportation equipment and parts (-1.01%) recorded relatively large declines. In contrast, transportation and storage (1.53%) and pharmaceuticals (1.37%) rose.

Among the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, ABL Bio (3.2%), Peptron (3.1%), PharmaResearch (1.4%), and Hugel (1.3%) rose. Rainbow Robotics (-1.6%), HLB (-1.2%), Alteogen (-1.0%), Ecopro (-0.9%), and Ecopro BM (-0.7%) declined.