Kospi Extends Losses to 8,167.72 on Foreign Selling; Kosdaq Drops 3%

South Korea’s Kospi extended losses on May 28 as foreign investors continued to sell, with renewed geopolitical tensions adding pressure after the benchmark’s recent sharp rally.

As of 10:39 a.m., the Kospi was down 60.98 points, or 0.74%, at 8,167.72. The index opened 0.77% lower and briefly turned positive early in the session before resuming its slide around 10:18 a.m.

On the benchmark market, foreign investors were net sellers of 2.8849 trillion won. Individuals and institutions were net buyers of 2.4349 trillion won and 373.9 billion won, respectively.

Investor caution appeared to deepen after reports said U.S. forces had launched an airstrike targeting an Iranian military facility, even as negotiations to end the war between the U.S. and Iran were nearing a final stage.

Among Kospi heavyweights, Samsung Electronics, SK Square, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Life Insurance, Doosan Enerbility and Samsung C&T fell, while SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, LG Energy Solution and Kia rose.

The Kosdaq dropped 33.9 points, or 2.99%, to 1,099.23 at the same time, falling below the 1,100 mark. On the Kosdaq market, foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 152.3 billion won and 41.7 billion won, while individuals were net buyers of 218 billion won.

Most of the Kosdaq’s biggest stocks traded lower. EcoPro BM and EcoPro rose, while Alteogen, Rainbow Robotics, Jusung Engineering, Kolon TissueGene, Samchundang Pharm, LEENO Industrial, HLB, Peptron and ABL Bio declined.

Ko Jung-sam, Hankyung.com reporter, jsk@hankyung.com