The KOSPI index showed a cautious trend on August 6, influenced by the mixed closing of the U.S. stock market the previous night.
According to the Korea Exchange, as of 9:04 a.m., the KOSPI was down 88.75 points (1.35%) at 6,509.96 compared to the previous trading day.
In the securities market, institutions sold a net 73 billion won, while individuals and foreigners bought a net 78.2 billion won and 7.1 billion won, respectively.
Most of the top market capitalization stocks on the KOSPI showed weakness. SK Hynix fell 4.92%, followed by SK Square (-4.65%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-3.17%), Samsung Electronics (-3.05%), Samsung Life Insurance (-2.89%), Samsung C&T (-2.16%), Hyundai Motor (-1.11%), LG Energy Solution (-1.04%), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-0.79%). In contrast, Samsung Biologics rose 0.94%, and KB Financial gained 0.12%.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index rose 4.80 points (0.60%) to 804.39 compared to the previous trading day.
In the KOSDAQ market, individuals and institutions bought a net 84.5 billion won and 4.4 billion won, respectively, while foreigners sold a net 87.3 billion won.
The top market capitalization stocks on the KOSDAQ showed mixed results. Simtech surged 10.10%, while Rainbow Robotics (2.79%), ABL Bio (2.24%), EcoPro (1.94%), and EcoPro BM (0.39%) also saw gains. Conversely, Wonik IPS (-1.43%), Juseong Engineering (-1.33%), Alteogen (-1.26%), Rino Industry (-1.05%), and HLB (-0.29%) declined.
The domestic stock market is seen as taking a breather following the weak performance of U.S. semiconductor stocks and disappointing earnings forecasts from SanDisk.
On August 5 (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices fell by 0.17% and 0.83%, respectively, reflecting a mixed market.
Most semiconductor and technology stocks closed lower. SK Hynix's American Depositary Receipts (ADR) fell 2.2%. SanDisk and Western Digital also dropped 5.4% ahead of their earnings announcements. Additionally, Alphabet, Google's parent company, fell 4.06%, and AMD dropped 7.04%. After the market closed, SanDisk's earnings report led to a more than 5% decline in after-hours trading.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "The earnings report from SanDisk, released after the market closed, slightly missed market expectations, resulting in a decline of over 5% in after-hours trading. There is a need to be cautious of potential profit-taking in domestic semiconductor stocks today."
She added, "Recently, the domestic stock market has shown noticeably reduced intraday volatility compared to July. The perception of overselling in terms of stock prices and valuations remains valid. Even if there is a sharp decline during the day, buying interest at lower prices is likely to support the market, indicating increased downside resilience in the domestic stock market."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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