Kospi Falls to Mid-8,600s as Foreigners, Institutions Take Profits

The Kospi opened lower as investors took profits after the benchmark surged over the previous three trading sessions on optimism over an end to the US-Iran war.

As of 9:05 a.m. on June 17, the Kospi was down 66.44 points, or 0.76%, at 8,660.16.

Foreign investors were net sellers of 542.3 billion won worth of shares, while institutions sold a net 143.9 billion won. Retail investors bought a net 692 billion won.

Trading in the market's biggest stocks was mixed.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 2.92% and 0.25%, respectively. Semiconductor shares also tumbled overnight in New York. Volatility has increased amid derivatives-driven flows after stocks surged on reports that a US-Iran ceasefire was near.

SK Square rose 6.86%, while Samsung Life Insurance added 0.58%.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 2.05%, and Hyundai Motor dropped 2.19%.

LG Energy Solution was little changed.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Doosan Enerbility gained 3.01% and 1.55%, respectively.

The Kosdaq was up 0.21 point, or 0.02%, at 1,018.89 from the previous session. In that market, retail investors were net buyers of 58.9 billion won worth of shares, while foreign and institutional investors sold a net 54.1 billion won and 6 billion won, respectively.

Large-cap Kosdaq stocks were also mixed.

Wonik IPS stood out with an 8.84% gain. Jusung Engineering and EO Technics rose 1.99% and 2.42%, respectively.

Leeno Industrial fell 0.74%.

Among biotech stocks, Alteogen rose 0.43%, while Kolon TissueGene and HLB lost 1.05% and 1.96%, respectively.

EcoPro BM was little changed, while EcoPro fell 0.49%.

In Seoul's foreign-exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate rose 4.3 won, or 0.29%, to 1,512.6 won per dollar.

US stocks finished mixed overnight. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1% as semiconductor shares slumped, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on lower oil prices and bond yields. On June 16, the Dow gained 328.64 points, or 0.64%, to 51,999.67. The S&P 500 fell 42.94 points, or 0.57%, to 7,511.35, and the Nasdaq dropped 307.60 points, or 1.15%, to 26,376.34.

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