KOSPI Takes a Breather... Slight Decline in Early Trading

Atmosphere of Adjusting Sharp Gains
Large-cap Stocks Weaken

Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices showed slight declines in early trading. With the U.S. stock market also taking a breather, the atmosphere reflects an adjustment after a period of sharp gains.

On July 2, the KOSPI opened at 3,083.82, down 0.19% from the previous day. As of 9:31 a.m., the index had fallen further to the 3,060 range.

By investor type, foreign investors and institutions recorded net sales of 251.1 billion won and 116.5 billion won, respectively. Individual investors alone recorded a net purchase of 394 billion won.

Almost all sectors were in decline. The electric and gas sector posted the largest drop at 4.60%. This was followed by construction (-2.53%), chemicals (-1.69%), retail (-1.33%), and machinery and equipment (-1.27%). Only the pharmaceuticals sector (2.08%) and food, beverage, and tobacco sector (1.35%) saw gains.

Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, Hanwha Aerospace recorded the largest drop at -4.2%. This was followed by SK Hynix (-2.7%), NAVER (-1.9%), Doosan Enerbility (-1.4%), LG Energy Solution (-1.1%), and Samsung Electronics (-0.2%). In contrast, Samsung Biologics (1.2%), KB Financial Group (1.2%), Hyundai Motor (0.8%), and Kia (0.6%) posted gains.

The KOSDAQ opened at 784.73, up 0.14% from the previous day, but soon turned downward. As of 9:31 a.m., it stood at 778.65.

Unlike the KOSPI, only foreign investors recorded a net sale of 88.8 billion won. Individual and institutional investors recorded net purchases of 99.3 billion won and 2.2 billion won, respectively.

Again, most sectors were in decline. The largest drops were seen in metals (-1.39%), electrical and electronics (-1.39%), other manufacturing (-1.33%), finance (-1.32%), construction (-1.18%), and transportation and warehousing (-1.11%). Only general services (1.30%) and publishing and media reproduction (0.29%) posted gains.

Most of the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization fell. The largest declines were recorded by Peptron (-2.4%), Ecopro (-1.5%), Pharmaresearch (-1.5%), Rainbow Robotics (-1.2%), Ecopro BM (-1.1%), and HLB (-0.2%). In contrast, Alteogen (2.8%), LIG Chem Bio (2.7%), Hugel (1.3%), and Classys (0.3%) posted gains.