Kospi Falls 0.7% on First Trading Day of October as Foreign, Institutional Selling Weighs

The Kospi fell to the 6,790 range early on the first trading day of October as foreign and institutional investors sold shares in tandem.

As of 9:26 a.m. on Oct. 1, the Kospi was down 46.22 points, or 0.71%, at 6,793.38 from the previous session. On the main board, foreign investors were net sellers of 361.7 billion won and institutions sold a net 138.3 billion won. Retail investors bought a net 389.9 billion won, absorbing the supply, but that was not enough to halt the decline.

Among the market's largest stocks, major chipmakers were under pressure. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were down 1.02% and 1.13%, respectively. US memory-chip maker Micron Technology reported earnings that topped market consensus, but earnings per share fell short of the unofficial "whisper number" circulating in the market ahead of the release, weighing on sentiment toward semiconductor stocks. Micron shares were little changed in after-hours trading after the earnings announcement.

A sharp rise in US Treasury yields also added pressure to South Korean equities. Overnight, the US personal consumption expenditures price index for September came in below market expectations, but the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose above 5.3% during the session, reaching its highest level since May 2002. The 30-year Treasury yield also climbed above 5.6%, its highest since June 2002.

Other heavyweight stocks were mostly lower as well. SK Square fell 3.42% and Samsung Electro-Mechanics dropped 2.78%, while Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T were each down more than 1%. Hyundai Motor, Samsung Biologics and KB Financial Group posted modest gains, holding up relatively well.

The Kosdaq, by contrast, was higher. At the same time, the Kosdaq index was up 5.08 points, or 0.56%, at 860.99. On the Kosdaq market, retail investors and foreigners were net buyers of 24.1 billion won and 23 billion won, respectively, while institutions were net sellers of 21.5 billion won.

Among Kosdaq heavyweights, trading was mixed. Alteogen and EcoPro were little changed, while EcoPro BM fell 0.55%. Among semiconductor materials, parts and equipment shares, Jusung Engineering and Simmtech dropped 2.58% and 0.73%, respectively, while Wonik IPS and EO Technics rose 2.21% and 0.58%.

Earlier, on Sept. 30, US stocks ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 443.87 points, or 0.86%, to 50,906.05, while the S&P 500 dropped 19.30 points, or 0.25%, to 7,651.54. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 63.52 points, or 0.24%, to 26,861.06.