South Korea’s Kospi climbed above the 6,750 level in intraday trading on April 30 but reversed to finish lower as foreign investors sold and overseas uncertainties weighed on sentiment. Ahead of a holiday, profit-taking erased earlier gains and pushed the benchmark back into the 6,590 range.
According to the Korea Exchange, the Kospi closed down 92.03 points, or 1.38%, at 6,598.87. It opened up 48.49 points, or 0.72%, at 6,739.39 and briefly topped 6,750 before turning negative.
In the main market, retail investors bought a net 1.8065 trillion won, while foreigners and institutions sold a net 1.6773 trillion won and 99.7 billion won, respectively, as they locked in gains.
Most heavyweight stocks fell. Samsung Electronics dropped 2.34%, Hyundai Motor slid 4.50%, LG Energy Solution fell 2.64%, Doosan Enerbility lost 1.63%, Hanwha Aerospace dipped 0.21%, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 0.72% and Samsung Biologics slipped 0.20%. SK hynix rose 1.33%.
The Kosdaq closed down 27.91 points, or 2.29%, at 1,192.35. Retail investors bought a net 653.5 billion won, while foreigners and institutions sold a net 300.3 billion won and 310.9 billion won, respectively.
Kosdaq leaders were mixed. Rainbow Robotics rose 0.15% and Lino Industrial gained 6.33%, while EcoPro fell 4.25%, EcoPro BM lost 2.82%, Alteogen dropped 3.03%, Samchundang Pharm slid 6.09%, Kolon TissueGene fell 5.03%, HLB lost 3.02%, ABL Bio dropped 5.14% and LigaChem Bio fell 5.50%.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said net foreign selling expanded while institutional selling eased, helping support the market’s lower end. He said the Kospi stayed weak as it digested a hawkish Federal Open Market Committee stance and inflation concerns tied to high oil prices.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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