The KOSPI fell due to selling pressure from foreign investors.
On August 19, the KOSPI closed at 3,151.56, down 25.72 points (0.81%) from the previous trading day. Trading volume was provisionally tallied at 281.47 million shares, with a transaction value of 8.5362 trillion won.
By investor type, institutional investors and individuals were net buyers of 252.9 billion won and 88.6 billion won, respectively, while foreign investors were net sellers of 453.7 billion won. In the futures market, institutions and individuals were net sellers of 68.0 billion won and 15.2 billion won, respectively, while foreign investors were net buyers of 93.1 billion won. In program trading, there was a net purchase of 12.4 billion won in arbitrage trading and a net sale of 165.7 billion won in non-arbitrage trading.
Most sectors declined. The machinery and equipment sector fell by 4.8%, electricity and gas by 4.67%, construction by 3.22%, transportation equipment by 2.12%, medical precision by 2.04%, general services by 1.41%, non-metallics by 1.05%, manufacturing by 1.0%, metals by 0.9%, transportation and storage by 0.67%, and securities by 0.62%. On the other hand, entertainment and culture rose by 1.07%, IT services by 0.57%, insurance by 0.49%, and real estate by 0.38%.
Among large-cap stocks, more declined than advanced. SK hynix dropped 1.68%, Samsung Biologics 0.39%, Hanwha Aerospace 6.87%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries 5.99%, Doosan Enerbility 8.6%, NAVER 0.22%, and Shinhan Financial Group 0.15%. In contrast, LG Energy Solution rose 0.26%, Hyundai Motor 1.15%, KB Financial Group 2.05%, and Kia 1.76%. Samsung Electronics and Celltrion closed flat.
The number of advancing stocks was 271, while 613 stocks declined, and 50 stocks closed unchanged. One stock hit the upper price limit.
The KOSDAQ index also ended lower. The KOSDAQ closed at 787.96, down 10.09 points (1.26%) from the previous day. By investor type, institutions and foreign investors were net sellers of 62.5 billion won and 6.5 billion won, respectively, while individuals were net buyers of 90.4 billion won.
Among large-cap stocks, more declined than advanced. Alteogen fell 2.84%, Peptron 6.96%, Legochem Biosciences 2.78%, HLB 1.14%, Rainbow Robotics 1.88%, ABL Bio 7.36%, Samchundang Pharm 2.15%, and Classys 2.53%. In contrast, both Ecopro BM and Ecopro rose by 0.46% and 0.71%, respectively, and PharmaResearch also gained 1.05%.
Meanwhile, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won/dollar exchange rate was trading at 1,389.7 won, up 1.6 won from the previous day.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
