KOSPI Recovers 2,700 Level Ahead of Presidential Election... KOSDAQ Also Firm

On June 2, one day before the 21st presidential election, the KOSPI began trading in a narrow range.

As of 9:15 a.m. on this day, the KOSPI index stood at 2,716.81, up 19 points (0.71%) from the previous trading day.

On the 2nd, employees are working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The index opened at 2,692.91, down 4.76 points (0.18%) from the previous session, and has since been fluctuating around the 2,700 mark within a narrow range.

By investor type, foreigners and individual investors recorded net purchases of 27 billion won and 45.9 billion won, respectively, while institutions recorded net sales of 80.1 billion won.

Most of the large-cap stocks by market capitalization are trading flat, while Hanwha Aerospace (2.22%) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (3.95%) are showing relatively strong gains.

Samsung Electronics (1.07%), SK Hynix (0.73%), and Samsung Biologics (0.19%) are rising, while LG Energy Solution (-0.35%), KB Financial Group (-0.86%), Hyundai Motor (-0.54%), and Celltrion (-0.75%) are declining.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was at 737.98, up 3.50 points (0.48%) from the previous trading day.

Individual investors are recording net purchases of 29.9 billion won, while foreigners and institutions are recording net sales of 5.8 billion won and 22.1 billion won, respectively.

In the KOSDAQ market, Alteogen (1.06%), Ecopro BM (0.89%), Ecopro (1.40%), Peptron (1.29%), PharmaResearch (2.22%), and Hugel (0.75%) are on the rise.

Declining stocks include HLB (-2.20%), Rainbow Robotics (-0.57%), Ricachem Bio (-0.78%), and ABL Bio (-0.74%).

By sector, other distribution, tobacco, cosmetics, shipbuilding, and transportation are rising by more than 1%, while display panels, electrical equipment, and steel are declining.

The KOSPI is expected to continue fluctuating around the 2,700 mark. Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, explained, "This week, changes in Trump's tariff policy are expected to be a factor driving volatility in the stock market. However, in the bigger picture, it is still difficult to see this as a major turning point in tariff-related uncertainty."

She added, "Domestically, the presidential election is important. The fact that the KOSPI rose 5.5% in May and touched the 2,700-point range was not only due to the strong performance of existing leading stocks such as shipbuilding and defense, but also because of expectations for new government policies."

She further noted, "Right after the election, with the disappearance of election-related momentum and growing caution ahead of U.S. employment data and a domestic market holiday later in the week, it is important to note that some short-term profit-taking may occur, particularly in sectors that benefited from the election."