Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
KOSPI clings to 8,000 despite heavy foreign, institutional selling
The KOSPI and Kosdaq indexes are displayed in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Monday. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 8,051.33, down 0.46 percent from the previous session, while the secondary Kosdaq closed at 847.07, down 2.46 percent. Yonhap
By Lee Yeon-woo
Seoul stocks swung wildly Monday, with the benchmark KOSPI barely holding above the 8,000 mark, as continued selling by foreign and institutional investors offset heavy buying by retail investors.
According to the Korea Exchange, KOSPI closed at 8,051.33, down 0.46 percent from the previous session. The index remained highly volatile throughout the day, rising to the 8,300 level before falling back to the 7,800 range and later paring some of its losses.
Heavy selling by foreign and institutional investors weighed on the index. Foreigners and institutions net sold 1.31 trillion won ($854.3 billion) and 1.43 trillion won in shares, respectively. It marked the 12th consecutive session of net selling by foreign investors in the Korean market. Retail investors, meanwhile, were net buyers of 2.65 trillion won in shares, helping support the index.
Samsung Electronics closed at 318,000 won, up 2.75 percent from the previous session. The stock rose more than 5 percent in early trading on expectations for its preliminary second-quarter earnings results, due Tuesday, but pared gains after 11 a.m. SK hynix dropped 3.38 percent to close at 2,343,000 won.
All eyes are now on Samsung Electronics' preliminary earnings guidance, as investors look for clues on whether the chip rally has further room to run.
The company is already expected to post exceptionally strong results, with the current operating profit consensus standing in the 85 trillion won range, compared with 57 trillion won in the previous quarter.
However, analysts said the market's actual expectations may be higher than the current consensus. The highest second-quarter operating profit estimate on FnGuide is 99 trillion won.
"If the impact of memory price hikes significantly exceeds expectations, investor attention could become concentrated on AI (artificial intelligence)-related stocks," said SK Securities analyst Hwang Jee-woo. "If the results fall somewhat short of expectations, the recent rotational trading trend may continue."
The secondary Kosdaq closed at 847.07, down 2.46 percent from the previous session. The index plunged nearly 5 percent during the session but recovered some of its losses along with KOSPI.
The won-dollar exchange rate closed the daytime session at 1,530.3 won, down 4.7 won from the previous trading day, as 24-hour trading began in Korea's foreign exchange market.