KOSPI Rises for Third Day on Foreign and Institutional Buying, While KOSDAQ Falls

The KOSPI rose for the third consecutive session, supported by simultaneous buying from foreign investors and institutions.

On December 23, the KOSPI closed at 4,117.32, up 11.39 points (0.28%) from the previous day. Earlier, the index opened at 4,127.40, up 21.47 points (0.52%) from the previous session, but the intraday gains were pared as individual investors increased their selling.

Individual investors sold a net 1.2731 trillion won, while foreign investors and institutions bought 954.3 billion won and 350.1 billion won, respectively. In the KOSPI 200 futures market, foreign investors were net buyers of 344.3 billion won, whereas individuals and institutions were net sellers of 15.2 billion won and 343.6 billion won, respectively.

The top KOSPI stocks by market capitalization ended mixed. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 3.70%), Hanwha Aerospace (up 1.58%), Samsung Electronics (up 0.90%), and SK Hynix (up 0.69%) rose, while Kia (down 0.74%), Hyundai Motor (down 0.69%), Doosan Enerbility (down 0.51%), KB Financial Group (down 0.40%), LG Energy Solution (down 0.39%), and Samsung Biologics (down 0.23%) declined.

On the same day, the KOSDAQ closed at 919.56, down 9.58 points (1.03%) from the previous session. The index had opened at 932.48, up 3.34 points (0.36%), but quickly turned downward and extended its losses. Foreign investors sold 168.7 billion won, while individuals and institutions bought 209.4 billion won and 45.2 billion won, respectively.

The top KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization also ended mixed. Rainbow Robotics (up 6.24%), ABL Bio (up 0.86%), HLB (up 0.54%), and Kolon TissueGene (up 0.13%) gained, while Samchundang Pharm (down 4.48%), LIG Chem Bio (down 1.16%), Peptron (down 0.84%), Ecopro (down 0.71%), and Ecopro BM (down 0.57%) fell.

By sector, road and railway transportation (+5.80%), shipbuilding (+4.50%), and broadcasting and entertainment (+3.46%) showed notable gains. In contrast, venture capital (-9.08%), other financials (-4.54%), and telecommunications equipment (-3.07%) sectors experienced corrections.

Lee Jaewon, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, commented, "Since November, the KOSPI has moved past its overheated phase, with earnings estimates continuing to be revised upward, easing valuation pressures. However, as the won-dollar exchange rate has surpassed 1,480 won and the government's crackdown on overseas investment has not yet produced clear results, attention should be paid to additional policy measures."