Kospi Hits 5,500 Before Turning Lower; Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Reverse Losses

Foreigners turn net sellers of more than 375.8 billion won

Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix erase early gains

The Kospi, which had risen nearly 3% early in the session, gave up all of its gains and turned lower. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also fell after foreign investors shifted to net selling.

As of the afternoon session on November 13, the Kospi was trading at 5,300, down 39.95 points, or 0.75%, from the previous close. The index opened 2.05% higher at 5,452.41 and climbed as high as 5,504.44 before paring gains and turning negative. It fell to as low as 5,294.73 intraday, briefly slipping below the 5,300 level.

Foreign investors, who had been buying early in the session, switched to net selling and weighed on the index. On the Kospi market, foreigners were net sellers of 375.8 billion won, while retail investors sold 68.1 billion won. Institutions bought 443.8 billion won.

Samsung Electronics fell 0.60% from the previous session to 206,750 won, while SK Hynix dropped 2.87% to 1,218,000 won. Both stocks had risen 3% to 4% early in the session, but turned lower as selling emerged. SK Square also fell 4.80%.

Financial shares and automakers extended gains. KB Financial Group rose 4.15%, while Shinhan Financial Group added 5.29%. Samsung Life Insurance gained 2.40%, and Hyundai Motor climbed 1.31%, diverging from semiconductor stocks.

US stocks fell across the board overnight, with Nvidia sliding 4.34% after Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang resigned. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.35%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.39%.