'KOSPI at Record Highs for Consecutive Days' KOSPI Surrenders Gains Due to Profit-Taking... Foreigners Turn Net Sellers

Strong Performance in Semiconductor and Renewable Energy Stocks

On the 11th, the KOSPI Index surpassed the psychologically significant resistance level of 3,200 in early trading, but has since given back some of its gains due to profit-taking. As of 10:45 AM, the KOSPI Index is up 14 points (0.44%) at 3,197.23, extending its rally for the fifth consecutive session. The index started the day with a 0.1% increase and quickly expanded its gains to top 3,200. This marks the first time the index has surpassed the 3,200 level during trading since September 7, 2021 (3,201.76), after nearly 3 years and 10 months. However, with profit-taking emerging during the session, the index dipped below 3,200 once more.

Researcher Park Sung-cheol of Yuanta Securities analyzed, "While expectations for a continued bull market remain, we are seeing a trend where investors are selling leading sectors that have driven the market and buying those that haven't risen much yet," adding, "The KOSPI Index is testing the psychological resistance at 3,200 and then pulling back again."

The U.S. stock market also closed higher overnight. On the 10th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43%, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.27% and 0.09%, respectively—reaching all-time highs. Despite news that President Donald Trump would impose steep 'tariff bombs' on Brazil, investors maintained an optimistic outlook.

In the Korean stock market, individuals and institutions have net bought ₩70.2 billion and ₩27.6 billion, respectively, while foreigners showed a net selling position of ₩112.4 billion.

Among KOSPI large-caps, stocks such as LG Energy Solution, KB Financial Group, Hyundai Motor Company, and Kia Corporation are gaining, while Samsung Biologics, NAVER Corporation, Celltrion, Doosan Enerbility, Hanwha Aerospace, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries are declining.

Samsung Electronics (2.46%) and SK hynix (0.51%) continue to show strength, with SK hynix even climbing more than 3% intraday to surpass ₩300,000. Positive investor sentiment appears to be driven by news that Taiwan's TSMC—the world's largest foundry—posted record-breaking Q2 sales of TWD 933.8 billion (about ₩43.8 trillion).

On news that the RE100 renewable energy industrial complex will officially kick off, renewable energy stocks such as OCI Holdings (11.43%), Green Chemical (8.21%), HD Hyundai Energy Solution (2.99%), Hanwha Solutions (2.74%), and SK EterNix (1.77%) are all rallying.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ Index is at 803.69, up 5.99 points (0.75%) from the previous session. This is its fifth consecutive day of gains. The index started with a 0.28% increase and at one point during trading expanded its gain to 1.03%.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions are net buyers at ₩56.8 billion and ₩3.4 billion, while individuals are net sellers at ₩59.3 billion.

Among KOSDAQ large-cap stocks, EcoPro BM, HLB, EcoPro, PharmaResearch, and Leeno Industrial are rising, while Alteogen, Rainbow Robotics, Peptron, Hugel, and Classys are declining.

In the Seoul forex market, the KRW/USD exchange rate opened at 1,372.3, up 2.3 KRW from the previous close.

Go Jeong-sam, Hankyung.com Reporter, jsk@hankyung.com