Foreigners’ 700 Billion-Won Selloff Pushes Kospi Back Below 5,500

Kospi slips below 5,500 on 700 billion won of foreign selling

Lowest level in six months

Kospi falls 1.46%; Kosdaq tumbles 3%

The Kospi fell back into the 5,400 range on heavy foreign selling. Investor caution spread amid concerns over the burden of artificial intelligence spending and a surge in international oil prices. Foreign investors were net sellers of nearly 700 billion won, dragging the index lower. With major events this week including earnings from US big tech companies and the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the absence of a clear buying force also kept sentiment weak across South Korea’s stock market.

On Oct. 26, EpicAI, an AI-based investment information platform, said the Kospi closed at 5,469.47, down 1.46% or 80.83 points from the previous session’s 5,550.30. The index opened lower at 5,499.05 and rebounded to 5,565.67 during the session, but failed to hold gains and slid as low as 5,455.11 late in the day.

Foreign investors were net sellers of 695.5 billion won on the main bourse, pulling the index lower. Institutions were net buyers of 611 billion won, while retail investors bought a net 47.4 billion won, but that was not enough to absorb the foreign selling. Program trading also showed net selling of 525.6 billion won.

Most large-cap stocks also fell. Samsung Electronics closed at 213,000 won, down 1.16% from the previous session, while SK Hynix slipped 0.16% to 1.275 million won. KB Financial Group fell 3.79%, Hyundai Motor lost 2.54%, Samsung Electronics preferred shares dropped 2.20%, LG Energy Solution declined 2.09% and Samsung Biologics fell 0.95%. Samsung Life Insurance rose 0.61%.

The Kosdaq posted steeper losses. It closed at 727.21, down 3.26% or 24.48 points from the previous session’s 751.69. The index opened at 742.17 and rose to 745.95 during the day, but later widened losses and touched an intraday low of 727.20. On the Kosdaq market, institutions were net sellers of 127.8 billion won. Retail and foreign investors were net buyers of 85.4 billion won and 40.2 billion won, respectively. Decliners totaled 1,309, more than triple the 370 gainers.

Semiconductor equipment shares were hit particularly hard. Jusung Engineering plunged 6.84%, Wonik IPS dropped 6.49% and EO Technics sank 6.19%. HLB fell 5.65%, Samchundang Pharm lost 5.17%, Leeno Industrial dropped 4.22%, Ecopro declined 4.13%, Ecopro BM fell 3.45% and Alteogen lost 2.67%.

US stocks also closed lower overnight on Oct. 23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.23%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.52% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.21%. Investor sentiment was pressured by continued concerns over AI-related spending and a sharp rise in international oil prices. Caution also grew ahead of earnings this week from big tech companies including Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon.

Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said investors were more inclined to stay on the sidelines than to rush into bargain hunting or panic selling, with major events ahead including the October FOMC meeting, key corporate earnings and the US midterm elections. Foreign net selling continued, with no clear buying group to take the other side. He added that, in the absence of an upward catalyst, weakness spread across sectors, though rotation emerged in a handful of industries.

Kang Kyung-ju, Hankyung.com reporter, memory@hankyung.com