Retail Investors Lift Kospi to Record Close at 7,490.05

Source

Uk Jin

Summary

The Kospi closed at a record 7,490.05, with retail investors driving the index higher through net buying of 5.991 trillion won.
Foreign investors posted a record net sale of 7.151 trillion won as they took profits, while heavyweight stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were mostly stronger.
The Kosdaq index ended lower at 1,199.18, with retail and institutional investors net sellers and foreign investors net buyers, while the won-dollar exchange rate stood at 1,454.0 won after edging down.

Forecast Trend Report by Period

Retail investors' 5.991 trillion won in net buying reverses losses

*Employees celebrate in the dealing room at Hana Bank’s headquarters in Seoul’s Jung District on May 6 after the Kospi topped 7,000. Photo: Kim Beom-jun, Korea Economic Daily*

South Korea’s Kospi closed at another record high on May 7 after swinging between gains and losses during the session. Retail investors bought a net 5.991 trillion won, helping push the benchmark back into positive territory.

The Kospi rose 105.49 points, or 1.43%, from the previous session to close at 7,490.05. The index opened 1.55% higher and briefly climbed above 7,500 early in the day, but later slipped to the 7,250 level as foreign investors took profits.

Retail investors drove the rebound. Individuals were net buyers of 5.991 trillion won on the Kospi market, while institutions bought a net 1.095 trillion won. Foreign investors, who had bought heavily a day earlier, sold a net 7.151 trillion won. That marked the largest daily net sale by foreign investors on record.

Most of the Kospi’s biggest stocks advanced. Semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose in the 2% and 3% ranges, respectively. Doosan Enerbility gained 7.40%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries climbed 6.94%, Hyundai Motor rose 4.0%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics added 0.55% and LG Energy Solution edged up 0.21%. Hanwha Aerospace fell 8.09%, while Samsung Biologics slipped 0.47%.

The Kosdaq index fell 10.99 points, or 0.91%, to close at 1,199.18. On the Kosdaq market, retail investors and institutions were net sellers of 13 billion won and 135 billion won, respectively, while foreign investors bought a net 176 billion won.

Most large-cap Kosdaq stocks declined. HLB fell 3.57%, LEENO Industrial lost 2.74%, Alteogen dropped 1.93%, Ecopro slid 1.90%, Samchundang Pharm declined 1.60% and Rainbow Robotics slipped 0.71%. Kolon TissueGene rose 10.62%, while Ecopro BM added 3.06%.

The won strengthened slightly against the dollar. In Seoul’s foreign-exchange market, the won finished the daytime session at 1,454.0 per dollar, up 1.1 won from the previous day.

Lee Su, Hankyung.com reporter, 2su@hankyung.com