The KOSPI index ended trading in the 5300th range on Thursday after a tug-of-war market session. Investor sentiment in semiconductor stocks wavered following reports that NVIDIA’s board of directors was preparing to dismiss CEO Jensen Huang, which emerged before the opening bell.
On this day, which coincided with an options expiration date, foreign investors recorded net purchases, extending their streak of consecutive net buying for three trading days.
The KOSPI closed at 5342.73, down 32.63 points (0.61%) from the previous trading day.
In the KOSPI market, retail investors and institutional investors sold off 204 billion won and 691 billion won worth of shares, respectively. Among institutional investors, financial investment firms, which include retail investor ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) trading, showed net selling of 975.3 billion won.
Other corporations, reflecting SK hynix’s share buyback volume, recorded net purchases of 524.2 billion won. Foreign investors bought 370.5 billion won worth of shares.
Lee Kyung-min, head of the FICC Division at Daishin Securities, said, “The KOSPI index continued to weaken as it digested uncertainty stemming from the scandal related to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.”
He added, “While AI semiconductor investor sentiment improved, a pause pattern emerged after short-term rebounds over the previous two trading days, and particularly net selling by institutional investors and financial investment firms widened the intraday decline.”
Among KOSPI sectors, IT (Information and Communication) services fell more than 3%. Insurance declined in the 2% range. Chemicals, real estate, construction, metals, finance, machinery and equipment, among others, dropped by more than 1%.
Transportation equipment and parts, manufacturing, distribution, textiles and apparel, electrical and electronics, paper and wood products, among others, remained slightly lower. Non-metals, medical and precision instruments, general services, pharmaceuticals, among others, closed slightly higher. Electricity and gas, and transportation and warehousing rose in the 1% range. Entertainment and culture climbed more than 2%.
Among top KOSPI market capitalization stocks, Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell in the 4% range. Hyundai Motor dropped by more than 2%. SK hynix and LG Energy Solution declined in the 1% range.
SK Square and KB Financial Group remained slightly lower, while Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T closed slightly higher. Defensive stocks classified as such, including Samsung Biologics Logistics, Samsung Life Insurance, and Celltrion, rose in the 1% range.
The KOSDAQ index closed at 5342.73, down 32.63 points (0.61%) from the previous trading day.
In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors recorded net selling of 353.4 billion won. Retail investors and institutional investors recorded net purchases of 307.4 billion won and 43.7 billion won, respectively.
Among KOSDAQ sectors, metals and pharmaceuticals fell in the 2% range. Distribution, finance, textiles and apparel, transportation and warehousing, machinery and equipment, manufacturing, chemicals, transportation equipment and parts, among others, declined by more than 1%.
IT services, non-metals, food and tobacco, telecommunications, construction, electrical and electronics, other manufacturing, and medical and precision instruments remained slightly lower, while paper and wood products closed slightly higher. Publishing and media reproduction, and entertainment and culture rose in the 4th% and 5% ranges, respectively.
In the KOSDAQ market, a reshuffling was observed among top market capitalization stocks. Alteogen and Jusung Engineering fell in the 3% range. EcoPro BM and Samchundang Pharmaceutical declined by more than 2%. EcoPro, Iotech, and HLB dropped in the 1% range.
During intraday trading on this day, as EcoPro’s decline widened, it temporarily ceded its second-place position to EcoPro BM, which had previously held third place in market capitalization. HLB was pushed down to 10th place in market capitalization by Lino Industrial, which closed slightly higher. Lino Industrial rose one spot to ninth place. Simmtech rose in the 1% range.
In Seoul’s foreign exchange market on this day, the won/dollar exchange rate ended daily trading at 1,330.7 won, down 2.9 won from the previous trading day’s closing price.
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