The KOSPI failed to hold the 5,500 level on the 26th as it awaits Q3 corporate earnings reports and the U.S. policy rate decision. With investors adopting a wait-and-see stance ahead of major events, outflows from foreign investors continued in the KOSPI market.
On this day, the KOSPI closed regular trading at 5,469.47, down 80.83 points (1.46%) from the previous session. Based on the closing price, it is the lowest level in approximately seven months since April 6 (5,450.33).
The KOSPI opened at 5,499.05, down 0.92%, and showed mixed trading as it briefly turned positive early in the session before widening its losses to close down over 1%.
The wave of selling by foreign investors in the KOSPI market continued. According to Korea Exchange data as of 3:45 p.m., foreign investors sold approximately 707 billion won. Foreign investors, who had made net sales of a cumulative 1,840.53 trillion won from the 1st to the 23rd of this month, continued their selling streak on this day as well.
In contrast, institutional investors and retail investors made net purchases of 604 billion won and 64 billion won, respectively.
The securities industry diagnosed that the KOSPI is trapped in a box range, unable to find a clear buying force ahead of major events expected to impact the stock market.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, analyzed, "Despite net selling by foreign investors, net purchases from institutional investors, including financial investors, flowed in, causing fluctuations within the box range," adding, "It is finding its direction in the early 5,500s ahead of major events."
The researcher diagnosed, "With major events scheduled, including the U.S. FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting in October, key corporate earnings reports, and U.S. midterm elections, a wait-and-see mood is dominant rather than hasty bargain hunting or panic selling," adding, "KOSPI trading volume remained at around 9 trillion won during the session, indicating shrinking market participation, and there is no clear buying force to absorb the continued net selling by foreign investors."
Looking at top stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics closed regular trading at 213,000 won, down 2,500 won (1.16%). SK Hynix closed at 1,277,000 won, up 2,000 won (0.16%), driven by expectations for shareholder return policies amid weakness in the semiconductor sector. SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics were slightly down, while LG Energy Solution and Kia fell over 1%.
Banking stocks, including KB Financial Group, a Woo Ryeo-ro (CEO) financial stock, closed down over 3%, and Shinhan Financial Group closed down over 2%, following the decline in NIM (Net Interest Margin) in the banking sector. Hanwha Aerospace was also weak, falling over 4%.
On this day, there were no strong industries or sectors in the KOSPI; all ended slightly lower or lower. Insurance, distribution, IT services, electrical and electronics, and transportation and warehousing were slightly down. Manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, real estate, and finance fell over 1%, while securities, telecommunications, chemicals, construction, food and tobacco, among others, were weak by over 2%. Machinery and equipment fell over 3%, and medical and precision instruments dropped over 5%.
The KOSDAQ fell over 3% on this day, a larger drop than the KOSPI. The KOSDAQ opened at 742.17, down 9.52 points (1.27%), and closed trading at 727.21, down 24.48 points (3.26%), slipping below the 720th level.
In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors bought 85.5 billion won and foreign investors bought 39 billion won, respectively, but the index could not avoid a decline as institutional investors made net sales of 127.9 billion won.
However, the robotics and healthcare sectors were strong. While all top stocks by market capitalization closed lower, RoboTech rose over 9%. Robotics-related stocks such as Everybot, T-Robotics, and SPG were strong, and Lunit and Vuno, which combine AI with medical technology/healthcare, hit their daily upper limits, while Ceres surged over 20%.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market on this day, the won/dollar exchange rate was traded at 1,323.1 won as of 3:30 p.m.
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