South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI ended nearly unchanged Thursday as heavy foreign selling offset early gains, with investors taking profits after a sharp recent run-up.
According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI closed down 0.18 point, or 0%, at 6,475.63. It opened up 20.29 points, or 0.31%, at 6,496.10.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said large-scale net selling by foreign investors in the cash market, continuing from last week into this week, has been absorbing short-term supply and easing overheating concerns.
He noted the index has surged more than 1,500 points, or over 30%, from its recent low. He also said expectations for talks to end the war between the United States and Iran had been priced in during the recent rise, while caution over the possibility of heightened geopolitical risks emerged over the weekend.
“As the earnings season gets fully underway, sector rotation is likely to become more pronounced,” Lee said.
In the main market, individuals and institutions were net buyers of 1.5066 trillion won and 646.1 billion won, respectively. Foreigners were net sellers of 2.1022 trillion won.
Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics fell 2.23%, SK hynix slipped 0.24%, Hyundai Motor dropped 3.57% and SK Square lost 0.41%. LG Energy Solution rose 3.11%, Doosan Enerbility gained 3.67%, Hanwha Aerospace added 2.67%, Samsung Biologics rose 0.92% and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries climbed 4.68%.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ closed up 29.53 points, or 2.51%, at 1,203.94 after opening up 2.11 points, or 0.18%, at 1,176.42.
In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions were net buyers of 806.5 billion won and 179.6 billion won, respectively, while individuals were net sellers of 963.8 billion won.
Among KOSDAQ heavyweights, EcoPro BM rose 1.22%, Alteogen gained 3.22%, Rainbow Robotics added 2.00%, Samchundang Pharm jumped 8.29%, Lino Industrial rose 0.89%, ABL Bio gained 2.41% and Kolon TissueGene added 0.90%. EcoPro fell 0.38% and LigaChem Bio slipped 0.74%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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