Kospi Reclaims 8,700 as Retail Buying Narrows Losses; SK Hynix Turns Higher

The Kospi reclaimed the 8,700 level on June 17 as retail buying helped pare earlier losses, with SK Hynix reversing course and moving higher after trading flat in early dealings.

As of 10:30 a.m., the Kospi was down 15.65 points, or 0.18%, at 8,710.95 from the previous session. The benchmark had fallen to the mid-8,600 range early in the session before trimming its decline on individual buying.

Retail investors were net buyers of 1.8499 trillion won on the benchmark market. Foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of 1.4626 trillion won and 387.2 billion won, respectively.

Trading among the largest stocks by market value was mixed.

Samsung Electronics fell 2.11%, while SK Hynix rose 1.47%.

SK Square, buoyed by the value of its stake in SK Hynix, jumped 5.26%.

Among stocks holding Samsung Electronics shares, performance diverged. Samsung Life Insurance rose 1.62%, while Samsung C&T fell 3.62%.

LG Energy Solution gained 1.71%.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries added 2.87%.

The Kosdaq rose 3.71 points, or 0.36%, to 1,022.39. Retail investors were net buyers of 142.8 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors sold 143.8 billion won and 3.6 billion won, respectively.

Most of the Kosdaq's largest stocks traded higher.

Kolon TissueGene led the gains with a 5.33% jump.

Wonik IPS, which had surged early in the session, saw its gain narrow to 1.79%.

In Seoul's foreign-exchange market, the won traded at 1,513.1 per dollar, up 4.8 won, or 0.32%, from the previous session.

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