The South Korean stock market opened sharply lower due to a significant drop in U.S. tech stocks and rising international oil prices. However, it managed to recover in the afternoon, with the KOSPI closing higher. Following the previous day's decline, buying pressure emerged, particularly in semiconductor stocks like SK Hynix. In contrast, the KOSDAQ continued its downward trend amid selling by foreign and institutional investors.
On October 23, the Korea Exchange reported that the KOSPI closed at 5,550.30, up 16.53 points (0.30%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 5,403.17, down 130.60 points (2.36%), and at one point, the decline exceeded 4%, but it later reduced its losses and rebounded.
In the securities market, individuals and institutions sold a net 233.6 billion won and 795.4 billion won, respectively. Meanwhile, foreign investors sold a net 1.0939 trillion won, increasing downward pressure on the index.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, there was a mixed performance. Samsung Electronics (0.47%), SK Hynix (4.42%), SK Square (3.20%), Samsung Biologics (7.71%), and Samsung Life (1.45%) saw gains. Conversely, LG Energy Solution (-1.79%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-2.01%), Hyundai Motor (-1.99%), and KB Financial (-3.29%) experienced declines.
The KOSDAQ index also continued to fall. At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was trading at 751.69, down 12.41 points (1.62%) from the previous trading day. It opened at 748.32, down 15.78 points (2.07%).
In the KOSDAQ market, foreign and institutional investors sold a net 29 billion won and 21.4 billion won, respectively, while individuals bought a net 46.2 billion won.
Most of the top market capitalization stocks were weak. Alteogen (-2.81%), EcoPro (-5.83%), EcoPro BM (-5.30%), JUSUNG Engineering (-3.64%), Rainbow Robotics (-3.42%), IOTech (-1.46%), Rino Technology (-4.05%), Wonik IPS (-0.93%), and Samchundang Pharmaceutical (-0.65%) all declined. In contrast, HLB (0.73%) rose.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, stated, "The domestic stock market continued to show weakness due to risk aversion. However, the impact of the shocks from Meta and Tesla was relatively limited as it had already been priced in."
He added, "The decline in the domestic semiconductor sector was relatively contained, as the sharp drop in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix the previous day reflected concerns over AI investments from the U.S. Notably, SK Hynix showed strength as investor sentiment improved somewhat following news of Solidigm's IPO withdrawal."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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