"I felt relieved seeing it hit 7,200," but KOSPI plummets to the 6th,800s… institutional investors dumped 780 billion won

The KOSPI, which attempted to settle above the 7,000 line, recovered to the 7,200 line but soon turned downward and closed trading at the 6,800 line. The rise in U.S. Treasury yields is believed to have influenced the surge in government bond yields across major countries, leading to weakness centered on technology stocks.

On the 18th, the KOSPI closed down 108.11 points (1.55%) at 6,869.83 compared to the previous trading day. The KOSPI rose as high as 7,216.62 early in the session, recovering to the 7,200 line, but fell to the 6,800 line.

Lee Sang-yeon, a researcher at Shinhan Securities, analyzed that "during the domestic holiday period, some stocks rose centered on memory semiconductors such as U.S.-based Micron, Japan's Kioxia, and China's CXMT," adding that "in the domestic stock market, buying orders for semiconductor stocks centered on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix entered early in the session."

He continued, "As government bond yields rose in major countries including the U.S., Japan, and Europe, profit-taking sales emerged during trading," and added, "For the domestic stock market to continue its upward trend, there must be factors that suppress U.S. Treasury yields."

On this day, institutional investors sold 784.9 billion won worth of stocks in the KOSPI market (based on Korea Exchange). Retail investors and foreign investors bought 731.2 billion won and 86 billion won, respectively. Foreign investors made net purchases exceeding 1 trillion won early in the session but reduced their net buying volume during trading.

Among KOSPI sectors, IT (information and communications) services closed with a decline of over 5%. Securities fell more than 4%, while machinery & equipment, transportation equipment & parts, and construction dropped by more than 3%. Pharmaceuticals declined by over 2%. Electricity & gas, manufacturing, metals, electrical & electronics, and chemicals all fell by more than 1%. Finance and real estate closed roughly flat, while telecommunications closed with a slight gain. Transportation & warehousing rose by more than 1%, and insurance increased by more than 2%.

Among the top KOSPI market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electronics plummeted by over 7%. LG Energy Solution fell by more than 5%. Hyundai Motor and Kia declined by more than 3%. Samsung Electronics dropped by over 2%, and Samsung Biologics fell by over 1%. SK Square fell by more than 1%, while SK Hynix rose by more than 1%. Samsung Life Insurance also rose by over 3%.

The KOSDAQ closed trading down 30.45 points (3.52%) at 834.20 compared to the previous trading day.

In the KOSDAQ market, institutional investors sold net 416.4 billion won worth of stocks. Retail investors and foreign investors made net purchases of 389.2 billion won and 36.7 billion won, respectively.

Among KOSDAQ sectors, finance and metals slipped by more than 5%. Non-ferrous metals declined by over 4%. Pharmaceuticals, medical & precision instruments, IT services, electrical & electronics, and manufacturing all fell by more than 3%. Food & tobacco, construction, chemicals, and machinery & equipment dropped by around 1%. Distribution closed roughly flat, while telecommunications closed with a slight gain. Textiles & apparel rose by more than 4%.

The top four KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization fell sharply. EcoPro, EcoPro BM, and RAINBOW Robotics all plummeted by over 6%. AlteoGen, the No. 1 stock by market cap, also declined by over 5%. ABL Bio dropped by more than 5%. Reino Industrial fell by around 4%, and Wonik IPS declined by over 3%. Juseung Engineering closed trading with a slight gain. IOTechneics rose by more than 2%.

On this day, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed weekly trading (at 3:30 p.m.) down 1.2 won from the previous day's closing price at 1,411.8 won.