Kospi Rises 0.4% on Retail, Institutional Buying; Kosdaq Jumps 5%

The Kospi closed higher on buying by retail and institutional investors, while the Kosdaq surged nearly 5% as foreign funds poured in.

On May 22, the Kospi rose 32.12 points, or 0.41%, to close at 7,847.71.

On the main board, retail investors were net buyers of 1.5596 trillion won, while institutions bought a net 968.3 billion won. Foreign investors were net sellers of 2.656 trillion won.

Most large-cap stocks finished higher.

Samsung Electronics briefly topped 300,000 won for the first time in regular trading early in the session. It later reversed course on profit-taking and closed down 2.34% at 292,500 won.

SK Hynix ended little changed.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 11.3%, while Doosan Enerbility rose 2.95%.

Hyundai Motor fell 1.65% and LG Energy Solution slipped 0.62%.

The Kosdaq climbed 55.16 points, or 4.99%, to close at 1,161.13. In that market, foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of 702.8 billion won and 288.1 billion won, respectively, while retail investors sold a net 969.2 billion won.

A buy-side sidecar, a temporary halt on the validity of program buy quotes, was triggered on the Kosdaq at about 9:33 a.m. on May 22, extending the streak to a second straight session.

Investor sentiment toward the Kosdaq improved sharply after the National Growth Fund attracted strong demand, with sales quotas on some channels exhausted within 10 minutes of launch. Stocks expected to benefit from the fund led gains among the Kosdaq's largest companies.

Most of the Kosdaq's biggest stocks posted sharp gains. EcoPro BM and EcoPro advanced 10.77% and 12.87%, respectively.

Jusung Engineering climbed 20.95%.

Biotech shares posted comparatively smaller gains. Alteogen rose 3.7%, Kolon TissueGene added 3.59%, Samchundang Pharm gained 4.79%, and HLB advanced 8.76%.

In Seoul trading, the won weakened 10.5 won, or 0.7%, to 1,518.5 per dollar.

Han Gyeong-u, Hankyung.com reporter case@hankyung.com