Kospi Erases 3.5% Intraday Slump to Close at 6,820

The Kospi reversed course after falling more than 3% early in the session, lifted by a rebound in heavyweight semiconductor stocks. The benchmark index opened sharply lower amid caution over the possibility of additional US rate hikes and military tensions between the US and Iran, but wiped out its losses in afternoon trading and reclaimed the 6,800 level.

The Korea Exchange said the Kospi closed up 31.14 points, or 0.46%, at 6,820.02 on August 31. The index opened down 2.58% at 6,613.58 and dropped to as low as 6,547.76, marking an intraday decline of as much as 3.55%. It then rebounded on bargain buying and turned positive late in the session.

Foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 639.9 billion won and 793.1 billion won, respectively. Individuals also were net sellers, with net sales of 144.3 billion won. While the market's main investor groups all sold, buying by other corporations helped support the rebound.

Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix ended higher after trading lower earlier in the day. Samsung Electronics rose 1.17% to 260,000 won, while SK Hynix gained 1.27% to 1,674,000 won. Samsung Electro-Mechanics climbed 2.60%, LG Energy Solution added 2.16%, Samsung Biologics advanced 2.15% and Hyundai Motor rose 1.00%.

Doosan Enerbility, by contrast, fell 6.46% to 82,500 won. Hanwha Aerospace lost 4.75%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries slipped 1.64%, Samsung Life Insurance dropped 1.29% and Celltrion fell 0.94%.

The Kosdaq failed to stage a rebound. The index closed down 4.12 points, or 0.49%, at 834.29 after falling as low as 805.14 during the session before sharply paring its losses.

On the Kosdaq, individuals were net buyers of 253.5 billion won, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 54.3 billion won and 201.5 billion won, respectively. Alteogen fell 3.91%, PharmaResearch dropped 7.69%, Peptron lost 4.78% and ABL Bio declined 5.46%. Robotis rose 6.40%, Simmtech gained 5.29%, EcoPro BM added 2.20% and EcoPro climbed 1.22%.