Korean Stock Market Opens Higher... SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Lead Gains

SK Hynix Up 5%, Samsung Electronics Up 2%
Foreign and Institutional Investors Sell, Individual Buyers Drive Market Rally

On December 29, the Korean stock market overcame the ex-dividend date issue and showed an upward trend in early trading. In particular, major semiconductor stocks such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics were strong.

As of 9:32 a.m. on December 29, the KOSPI index was trading at 4,180.80, up 51.12 points (1.24%) from the previous trading day. The index started the session at 4,146.48, up 16.80 points (0.41%), and continued to expand its gains, rising above the 4,180 mark. Foreign investors sold 46.7 billion won worth of shares, and institutions offloaded 326.1 billion won. Individual investors made a net purchase of 385.2 billion won.

Although there were expectations of heightened volatility due to the ex-dividend date before the market opened, the trend of increasing allocations across the Korean stock market, including the leading semiconductor sector, has continued.

On the morning of the 29th, the KOSPI is displayed on the status board of the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

By industry, electric and electronics (2.65%), metals (1.95%), manufacturing (1.90%), machinery and equipment (1.50%), and transportation equipment and parts (1.38%) sectors rose. In contrast, non-metals (-3.87%), textiles and apparel (-2.02%), securities (-1.95%), real estate (-1.83%), insurance (-1.62%), and telecommunications (-1.60%) sectors declined.

Among large-cap stocks, Hanwha Aerospace (5.52%), SK Hynix (5.18%), Naver (3.02%), SK Square (2.62%), Samsung Electronics (1.97%), Doosan Enerbility (1.77%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (1.58%), Hyundai Mobis (1.12%), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (0.78%) posted gains. Meanwhile, Samsung Life Insurance (-4.06%), LG Energy Solution (-1.43%), KB Financial Group (-0.96%), and Samsung C&T (-0.83%) declined.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was up 6.63 points (0.72%) from the previous trading day at 926.30. The index opened at 923.22, up 3.55 points (0.39%), and continued to widen its gains. Foreign investors sold 21.5 billion won worth of shares, and institutions sold 97.6 billion won. Individual investors made a net purchase of 149.4 billion won.

Among the top KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, Wonik Holdings (10.10%), Peptron (8.28%), Samchundang Pharm (4.07%), HLB (3.69%), PharmaResearch (3.57%), Kolon TissueGene (3.47%), Alteogen (2.85%), Caregen (2.48%), Ecopro (2.06%), Classys (1.51%), and D&D Pharmatech (1.16%) rose. On the other hand, LIG ChemBio (-1.61%), Aimed Bio (-1.54%), Voronoi (-1.09%), LinoTech (-0.65%), and ABL Bio (-0.60%) declined.

Meanwhile, on December 26 (local time), the New York stock market ended slightly lower in a quiet year-end atmosphere. There were no major economic indicators released to move the market. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average, focused on blue chips, fell 20.19 points (0.04%) to 48,710.97. The S&P 500 index, centered on large-cap stocks, slipped 2.11 points (0.03%) to 6,929.94. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index dropped 20.21 points (0.09%) to close at 23,593.10.