The Kospi swung between gains and losses early April 22 after touching the 6,400 level, as expectations for an improving semiconductor cycle and foreign inflows helped the benchmark set a fresh record high for the first time in about two months.
According to the Korea Exchange, the Kospi was down 6.93 points, or 0.10%, at 6,382.80 as of 9:23 a.m. It opened lower at 6,387.57, then turned higher and climbed to 6,400.11 around 9:01 a.m. before turning choppy again.
Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower as uncertainty grew over a second round of talks between the United States and Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.59%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 0.63% and 0.59%, respectively.
Major tech shares were mixed, with Microsoft up 1.46% and Amazon up 0.66%, while Nvidia fell 1.08% and Tesla slid 1.55%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.50%. The moves came as skepticism spread over renewed U.S.-Iran negotiations, weakening expectations for an end to the war, the report said.
Investor sentiment also appeared to cool after comments by Kevin Warsh, a candidate for chair of the Federal Reserve, were interpreted as hawkish. Warsh said he would maintain the independence of monetary policy regardless of the president’s preference for rate cuts.
“After Warsh’s remarks, U.S. stocks turned lower as selling emerged,” said Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities. He said uncertainty increased after Warsh signaled a sweeping overhaul of the existing inflation framework and the adoption of new data standards.
In Seoul, retail investors were net buyers of 991.9 billion won, while foreigners and institutions sold a net 314.0 billion won and 669.5 billion won, respectively, as they took profits.
Among large-cap shares, Samsung Electronics rose 0.46%, LG Energy Solution gained 1.67% and Hanwha Aerospace added 1.87%. SK hynix fell 0.41%, Hyundai Motor dropped 1.10%, SK Square slid 1.81%, Doosan Enerbility lost 0.86%, Samsung Biologics dipped 0.25% and Kia fell 0.63%.
By sector, electronics rose 0.17%, chemicals gained 0.52% and metals climbed 1.22%. Decliners included finance, down 1.20%, along with pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, IT services, retail, securities and insurance.
The Kosdaq also opened lower. It started down 2.20 points, or 0.19%, at 1,176.83 and was trading down 6.20 points, or 0.53%, at 1,172.83.
Retail investors were net buyers of 139.8 billion won on the Kosdaq, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 18.0 billion won and 60.5 billion won, respectively.
Kosdaq heavyweights were mixed. EcoPro rose 0.92%, EcoPro BM gained 0.23% and LigaChem Bio added 1.03%. Alteogen fell 1.36%, Rainbow Robotics slipped 0.67%, Samchundang Pharm plunged 14.93%, Lino Industrial dropped 0.76%, ABL Bio fell 1.60%, Kolon TissueGene lost 2.06% and HLB slid 3.53%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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