KOSPI Opens Lower at 3,190... KOSDAQ Also Slightly Down

"Impact of South Korea-U.S. Summit, Active Stock Picking Expected"

On August 26, both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets opened lower, showing a slight downward trend.

On the 26th, the KOSPI index opened at 3199.92, down 9.94 points from the previous trading day. Dealers are working in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. On the same day, the won-dollar exchange rate started trading at 1391 won, up 6.3 won from the previous trading day. Photo by Kang Jinhyung, August 26, 2025.

As of 9:05 a.m. on the same day, the KOSPI was at 3192.71, down 0.53% from the previous trading day. The index started at 3199.92, a decrease of 0.31% from the previous session, and has since extended its losses.

By investor type, individuals are net buyers of 93.6 billion won, while foreigners and institutions are net sellers of 63.9 billion won and 29.5 billion won, respectively.

There is a trend of sector differentiation. Entertainment & Culture (up 1.28%), Metals (up 0.64%), Telecommunications (up 0.49%), Non-metals (up 0.36%), Chemicals (up 0.34%), Textiles & Apparel (up 0.33%), and Distribution (up 0.35%) are rising. In contrast, Electricity & Gas (down 2.80%), Machinery & Equipment (down 2.68%), Construction (down 2.49%), Securities (down 1.27%), Transportation Equipment & Parts (down 1.29%), Finance (down 0.85%), Insurance (down 0.65%), IT Services (down 0.46%), and Pharmaceuticals (down 0.60%) are declining.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, with the exception of LG Energy Solution (up 0.66%), most are showing weakness, including Samsung Electronics (down 0.84%), SK Hynix (down 0.19%), Samsung Biologics (down 0.39%), Hanwha Aerospace (down 2.33%), Hyundai Motor (down 0.56%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (down 2.06%), KB Financial Group (down 1.36%), Kia (down 0.67%), Doosan Enerbility (down 3.79%), and Celltrion (down 1.09%).

At the same time, the KOSDAQ was at 797.15, down 0.11% from the previous trading day. The index started at 793.99, down 0.50% from the previous session, and is maintaining a slightly weak trend. Individuals are net buyers of 12.2 billion won, while foreigners alone are net sellers of 11.5 billion won.

By sector, Entertainment & Culture (up 1.13%), Non-metals (up 0.64%), Paper & Wood (up 0.43%), Chemicals (up 0.36%), Machinery & Equipment (up 0.27%), Textiles & Apparel (up 0.21%), Distribution (up 0.10%), and Transportation & Storage (up 0.09%) are on the rise. Meanwhile, Telecommunications (down 1.56%), Metals (down 0.72%), IT Services (down 0.44%), Pharmaceuticals (down 0.41%), Transportation Equipment & Parts (down 0.37%), Food, Beverage & Tobacco (down 0.34%), Medical & Precision Instruments (down 0.12%), Finance (down 0.05%), and Construction (down 0.04%) are declining.

Among the top 10 KOSDAQ market capitalization stocks, only Ecopro (up 0.54%) is showing gains, while Alteogen (down 0.57%), Peptron (down 1.43%), PharmaResearch (down 0.58%), Rainbow Robotics (down 0.52%), LIG ChemBio (down 1.02%), ABL Bio (down 0.90%), and Samchundang Pharm (down 0.38%) are all declining.

Kim Daejun, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, noted, "After the conclusion of the South Korea-U.S. summit, rather than seeing an overall unfavorable trend in the Korean market, we are likely to see more active stock picking."