KOSPI Falls Below 4,000 in a Day... Closes Weaker on Foreign and Institutional Selling

KOSDAQ Also Ends Down by Over 1%

On December 18, the KOSPI closed lower due to simultaneous selling by foreign and institutional investors. Influenced by the sharp decline in artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks such as Oracle on the New York Stock Exchange the previous day, the index fell back below the 4,000 mark in just one day. The KOSDAQ also dropped by more than 1%.

On this day, the KOSPI finished trading at 3,994.51, down 1.53% from the previous session. The index opened at 3,989.60, down 1.65% from the previous close, and hovered near the 4,000 level throughout the session.

Foreign investors and institutions sold 271.1 billion won and 116.5 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, dragging the index down. In contrast, individual investors made net purchases of 367 billion won, providing support to the index.

By sector, all sectors declined except for securities (2.22%) and entertainment·culture (0.41%). Electric·gas recorded the largest drop at -5.27%, followed by chemicals (-4.14%), metals (-3.03%), transportation equipment·parts (-2.13%), machinery·equipment (-1.99%), and manufacturing (-1.69%).

Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, only SK Hynix closed higher, ending at 552,000 won, up 0.18% from the previous session. LG Energy Solution fell sharply by 8.90% due to the termination of its contract with Ford, which also triggered a broad decline in secondary battery-related stocks. In addition, Samsung Electronics (-0.28%), Samsung Biologics (-0.69%), Hyundai Motor (-1.22%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-2.89%), Doosan Enerbility (-1.32%), KB Financial Group (-0.24%), and Kia (-0.91%) also ended lower.

The KOSDAQ closed at 901.33, down 1.07% from the previous session. The index started at 899.30, down 1.29%, and fluctuated around the 900 mark throughout the day.

The KOSDAQ also faced downward pressure due to selling by foreign and institutional investors. They recorded net sales of 90.5 billion won and 10.8 billion won, respectively. In contrast, individual investors bought a net 107.6 billion won.

By sector, general services (0.80%), food·beverages·tobacco (0.62%), and transportation equipment·parts (0.12%) rose, while non-metals (-2.87%), electric·electronics (-2.48%), finance (-2.26%), publishing·media reproduction (-1.91%), machinery·equipment (-1.85%), telecommunications (-1.82%), and chemicals (-1.60%) declined.

Among the top market cap stocks, secondary battery stocks such as Ecopro BM (-7.00%) and Ecopro (-4.74%) saw significant declines, while Rainbow Robotics (-2.80%), LIG ChemBio (-0.95%), HLB (-0.97%), Peptron (-1.64%), and Samchundang Pharm (-1.31%) also weakened. Meanwhile, Alteogen (2.38%), ABL Bio (2.47%), and Kolon TissueGene (1.80%) closed higher.

KB Securities researchers Lim Jeongeun and Tae Yunseon commented, "Thanks to the successful IPOs of companies such as Aimed Bio and Algenomics, the bio sector has maintained a positive trend, limiting the decline of the KOSDAQ compared to the KOSPI. However, it is important to closely monitor the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) to be announced tonight, as well as the monetary policies of the European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of England (BOE), and Bank of Japan (BOJ)."