KOSPI, 8 consecutive trading days of gains…soared even on 'quadruple witching day'

Market Inside

Hesitated at the president's press conference

Institutions and foreigners' net buying led to a rebound

Retail investors net sold more than 1 trillion won

The KOSPI index rewrote its all-time high for the second day in a row. On the 11th, the KOSPI closed at 3344.20, up 0.90%. It rose for 8 consecutive trading days, surpassing the record high set the previous day after 4 years and 2 months.

Right after the market opened that day, the KOSPI, which had risen to an intraday high of 3344.70, trimmed its gains as President Lee Jae-myung's press conference began at 10 a.m. This came immediately after the president said regarding the major shareholder threshold for capital gains tax on stocks, "If the revitalization of the stock market is hindered to that extent, there is no need to insist on it." The president added, "For some reason, the controversy over the major shareholder threshold feels like a test paper testing the will to revitalize the stock market, so I wonder if it is necessary to maintain it to the end," and said, "I intend to leave it to the National Assembly's discussions."

Afterward, profit-taking and disappointed selling poured in simultaneously, and the KOSPI briefly turned negative. Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., said, "The disappointment factor was that there was no firm statement that 'we will fix the major shareholder threshold at 5 billion won.'"

However, the KOSPI quickly resumed its upward trend as institutional investors' net buying grew. On the 'quadruple witching day,' when the expiration dates of four derivatives — stock index futures, stock index options, single-stock futures, and single-stock options — coincided, the index jumped more than 10 points sharply during the simultaneous quotation session.

On the day, in the securities market, institutions and foreign investors led the rise by net buying 7140 billion won and 3510 billion won worth respectively. Retail investors net sold 1.09 trillion won.

Securities and financial sectors, which had surged strongly the previous day on hopes for capital market modernization policies, all fell. Woori Financial Group and Meritz Financial Group fell 1.17% and 0.78% respectively. SK Hynix continued from the previous day to hit a 52-week high, closing at 307,000 won, up 0.99%.

Experts expect the KOSPI to continue its upward trend for the time being. Domestic markets have tended to remain buoyant immediately after breaking through all-time highs. After setting a record high in November 2020, the KOSPI rose about 27% further.

Reporter Seong-mi Shim smshim@hankyung.com