SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) – Asian equities opened the week mostly lower, with Japanese stocks retreating on rising bond yields and political uncertainty.
South Korea’s secondary KOSDAQ bucked the sentiment, surging past the 1,000 mark for the first time in four years on policy optimism.
The benchmark KOSPI opened higher but later pared gains. As of 10:37 a.m. local time Monday, the index was down 0.48 percent at 4,966.31. The KOSDAQ jumped 5.48 percent to 1,048.35, triggering a buying sidecar as momentum accelerated in growth stocks.
A KOSDAQ buying sidecar is activated when KOSDAQ 150 futures rise more than 6 percent from the reference price and the spot KOSDAQ 150 index climbs more than 3 percent for at least one minute. At the time of activation, KOSDAQ 150 futures were up 6.29 percent, or 105.10 points, at 1,774.60, while the spot index rose 6.56 percent. Trading in both futures and cash markets was temporarily halted for five minutes to curb volatility.
It marked the first KOSDAQ buying sidecar since April 10 last year.
The rally was driven by continued expectations for government measures to revitalize the junior bourse, along with strong gains in biotech and secondary battery shares.
Market sentiment was buoyed by reports that the KOSPI 5,000 Special Committee recently proposed leveraging digital assets to push the KOSDAQ toward the 3,000 level during a luncheon meeting with President Lee Jae Myung. Policy initiatives such as the proposed “National Growth Fund” to boost venture investment also supported sentiment.
Among KOSDAQ stocks, ABL Bio surged more than 15 percent, EcoPro BM climbed about 12 percent, and Rainbow Robotics jumped over 22 percent.
On the KOSPI, heavyweight stocks showed mixed performance. Samsung Electronics rose 0.33 percent to 152,600 won, while SK hynix fell 2.74 percent to 746,000 won amid speculation that Samsung may be gaining an edge in the HBM4 race.
LG Energy Solution advanced 0.85 percent to 415,500 won. Samsung Life Insurance slipped 0.49 percent, and Samsung Biologics edged down 0.17 percent.
Automakers traded lower, with Hyundai Motor falling 1.76 percent to 501,000 won and Kia dropping 2.45 percent to 155,100 won, after recent sharp gains.
Defense and aerospace shares gained attention, with Hanwha Aerospace rising 1.04 percent to 1,268,000 won, as President Lee Jae Myung’s chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik departed for Canada as a special envoy for strategic economic cooperation.
Kang is seeking to support South Korea’s bid to secure Canada’s major submarine procurement project, estimated at up to 60 trillion won ($40.9 billion), where Hanwha Ocean is competing against Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.
Shipbuilders traded lower. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 2.55 percent to 611,000 won, while Hanwha Ocean slipped 0.50 percent to 139,600 won.
In currency markets, the won strengthened to 1,444.40 per dollar, up 10.90 won from the previous session, supported by a firmer Japanese yen.
Japanese stocks underperformed most in the region. The Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.75 percent to 52,902.87, weighed down by a sharp rise in government bond yields and growing political uncertainty.
Yields on Japan’s long-dated government bonds last week had neared 30-year highs while the yen toward the 160-per-dollar level, fueling concerns over investor confidence.
Markets were unsettled after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called a snap election for early next month, raising worries over fiscal policy direction amid proposals for additional stimulus and tax cuts.
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