Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
KOSPI inches up as corporate buying offsets foreign, retail sell-offs
A stock ticker at Hana Bank's headquarters in Seoul shows the benchmark KOSPI closing at 6,808.21, up 0.97 percent from the previous session, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Park Han-sol
The KOSPI edged higher Wednesday, buoyed by buying from corporate investors as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix stepped up share buyback plans, though cautious trading ahead of Nvidia’s earnings kept gains in check.
The benchmark index opened at 6,727.25, down 0.23 percent from the previous session, and moved within a narrow range before picking up momentum in the afternoon. It ultimately closed at 6,808.21, up 0.97 percent.
The gain came despite selling by both retail and foreign investors. Retail investors offloaded a net 2.25 trillion won ($1.63 billion) worth of shares, while foreign investors sold 105.2 billion won. Institutional investors, meanwhile, purchased a net 764.9 billion won.
Corporate investors — companies that fall outside the individual, foreign and institutional investor categories — were the most notable buyers, purchasing a net 1.6 trillion won. The buying appeared to reflect in part purchases related to the share buyback programs announced by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
Shares of the two semiconductor heavyweights rose 1.75 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
SK hynix last Wednesday announced plans to repurchase 40 trillion won worth of its own shares and retire them in full, while pledging to return at least half of its free cash flow to shareholders over the next three years.
Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, said after Friday’s close that its board had approved a shareholder return plan worth 90 trillion won to 110 trillion won for this year.
“Although doubts still remain about the sustainability of the domestic stock market’s rebound, investors should pay attention to the improving resilience within the market,” said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
The secondary bourse Kosdaq saw little change. It opened 0.29 percent lower at 824.77 and swung between gains and losses before closing at 826.87, down 0.03 percent.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar, closing at 1,384.8 per dollar, up 1.3 won from the previous session.