Kospi Slips After Topping 6,200 as Foreign, Institutional Selling Weighs

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

The Kospi weakened after breaking above the 6,200 level, pressured by net selling from foreign investors and institutions.
In both the Kospi and Kosdaq markets, retail investors were net buyers, while foreign investors and institutions remained net sellers.
With the won-dollar exchange rate rising and heavyweight shares mixed, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Hyundai Motor were among the gainers.

Forecast Trend Report by Period

The Kospi traded lower, taking a breather after a steep three-day rally that lifted it above the 6,200 level on hopes of an end to the war between the US and Iran.

As of 9:04 a.m. on July 17, the benchmark index was down 22.76 points, or 0.37%, at 6,203.29.

On the main board, foreign investors sold 198.4 billion won of shares and institutions offloaded 93.2 billion won, dragging the index lower. Retail investors bought 280.4 billion won worth of stocks.

Most of the market's biggest companies were lower.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 0.69% and 0.61%, respectively, while SK Square fell 0.87%.

Hanwha Aerospace dropped 2.57%, the biggest decline among the heavyweight shares.

Hyundai Motor gained 0.66%, while Kia was little changed.

The Kosdaq fell 4.19 points, or 0.36%, to 1,158.78. Retail investors bought 114 billion won of shares, while foreign investors and institutions sold 80.4 billion won and 30.6 billion won, respectively.

Large-cap Kosdaq stocks were mixed.

EcoPro was slightly higher, while EcoPro BM was unchanged.

LigaChem Biosciences fell 2.68%. Alteogen, Samchundang Pharm and ABL Bio were all slightly lower.

Kolon TissueGene rose, while Lino Industrial fell 1.48%.

In Seoul's foreign-exchange market, the won-dollar rate rose 2.1 won from the previous session to 1,481.3 won per dollar.

US stocks closed higher overnight, though gains were modest. On July 16, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.00 points, or 0.24%, to 48,578.72 on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 gained 18.33 points, or 0.26%, to 7,041.28, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 86.69 points, or 0.36%, to 24,102.70.

Han Kyung-woo, Hankyung.com reporter, case@hankyung.com