Kospi Gains 1.4% Early as Foreign, Institutional Investors Buy

The Kospi rose more than 1% in early trading on September 4 as foreign and institutional investors bought shares after concerns over a US rate increase in September eased.

As of 9:02 a.m., the benchmark Kospi was up 92.95 points, or 1.41%, at 6,672.43. On the main board, foreign investors were net buyers of 175.3 billion won ($126.9 million) and institutions bought a net 130.3 billion won ($94.4 million). Retail investors were net sellers of 305.3 billion won ($221.2 million).

Investor sentiment improved after US Treasury yields retreated overnight. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller also said he could support holding rates steady in September if inflation is shown to be slowing further.

US stocks also closed higher overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.18%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.06% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.40%.

Among the Kospi's largest stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SK Square, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Hyundai Motor and Samsung Biologics advanced. LG Energy Solution, KB Financial Group, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T traded lower.

The Kosdaq also rose. As of the same time, the index was up 12.15 points, or 1.54%, at 802.36.

On the Kosdaq, foreign investors were net buyers of 30.2 billion won ($21.9 million), while retail and institutional investors were net sellers of 25.3 billion won ($18.3 million) and 2.1 billion won ($1.5 million), respectively. Most large-cap stocks were higher, including Alteogen, Ecopro, Ecopro BM, Rainbow Robotics, Jusung Engineering and EO Technics.