KOSPI barely holds above 6,000 as investors turn cautious ahead of US CPI data release

KOSPI barely held the 6,000 mark for two consecutive days. This is interpreted as being influenced by a spread of wait-and-see sentiment ahead of the release of the U.S. September consumer price index (CPI) overnight.

On the 14th, KOSPI closed at 6,008.81, down 26.54 points (0.44%) from the previous trading day. On this day, KOSPI started higher and rose to a high of the 6,190 line, but the upward momentum subsequently slowed. Before the market close, it briefly fell below the 6,000 line during intraday trading, dropping as low as the 5,940 line.

Lee Kyung-min, head of FICC at Daishin Securities, analyzed, "KOSPI shifted to a bullish trend due to inflows of rebound buying following the previous day's sharp drop, but the magnitude of the rebound was limited by rising international oil prices, weak AI (artificial intelligence) momentum, and cautious sentiment ahead of the U.S. September consumer price index (CPI) release."

In the KOSPI market on this day (based on Korea Exchange data), retail investors and foreign investors made net sales of 314.2 billion won and 1 trillion 181.3 billion won, respectively. Institutional investors made net purchases of 808.4 billion won. Other entities, including SK Hynix's share buyback, bought 685.3 billion won worth of shares.

Among KOSPI sectors, insurance fell by more than 4%. Medical and precision instruments, and financials declined by the 3rd% range and the 2nd% range, respectively. Distribution, pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, and securities dropped by more than 1%. Electrical and electronics, manufacturing, and construction were slightly down. Textiles and apparel, non-metals, real estate, and transportation equipment and parts showed slight gains. Metals rose by more than 1%.

Among top KOSPI market capitalization stocks, Samsung Life Insurance fell by more than 3%. SK Hynix, KB Financial Group, and Samsung Biologics dropped by the 1st% range. SK Square and Hyundai Motor were slightly down, while Samsung SDI closed with a slight gain. Samsung Electronics closed at 232,000 won, the same as the previous trading day's closing price, based on regular session data.

Secondary battery theme stocks showed strength on this day. LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI rose by more than 2% and more than 5%, respectively. Kim Ju-yeon, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Expectations have emerged that demand for ESS (energy storage system) batteries for AI data centers is surging and electric vehicle sales to Europe will show strength," adding, "Improved third-quarter earnings were confirmed for some stocks."

KOSDAQ closed at 823.88, down 13.15 points (1.57%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ index closed in the 820th line for the first time since the 18th of last month.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors and institutional investors made net sales of 217.2 billion won and 181.1 billion won, respectively. Retail investors made net purchases of 385.3 billion won.

Among KOSDAQ sectors, machinery and equipment and non-metals fell by more than 4%. Manufacturing dropped by the 2nd% range. Medical and precision instruments, electrical and electronics, distribution, telecommunications, and chemicals declined by more than 1%. Pharmaceuticals, textiles and apparel, food and tobacco, etc., remained slightly down. IT (information and communications) services, paper and wood, etc., closed with slight gains. Construction, financials, metals, entertainment and culture, etc., rose by more than 1%. Transportation and warehousing jumped by the 3rd% range.

Among top KOSDAQ market capitalization stocks, weakness was prominent in semiconductor materials, components and equipment stocks. Jusung Engineering plunged by the 8th% range, dropping to the fourth place, one tier below its previous market capitalization rank. Wonik IPS and Simmtech showed weakness in the 6th% range, while Iotech showed weakness in the 5th% range. Rino Industrial and HLB fell by more than 4%. RAINBOW Robotics was slightly down. Alteogen closed at 224,500 won, the same as the previous trading day's closing price. EcoPro and EcoPro BM rose by more than 3% and more than 2%, respectively.

On this day, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won/dollar exchange rate closed daily trading at 1,338.3 won, down 6.8 won from the previous trading day's closing price.