The Kospi is displayed on a screen at the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Monday. The index opened down 97.99 points, or 1.08 percent, at 8,954.43. [Yonhap]
The Kospi is displayed on a screen at the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Monday. The index opened down 97.99 points, or 1.08 percent, at 8,954.43. [Yonhap]

The Kospi retreated from the 9,000 level early Monday, taking a breather after last week's historic first close above that threshold. Foreign investors drove the index lower as short-term rally fatigue set in, while Samsung Electronics weighed on the broader market. SK Hynix and SK Square extended gains on expectations of a US American depositary receipt listing, and selective buying flowed into LG-affiliated stocks — including LG Electronics and LG CNS — on hopes of expanded cooperation with Nvidia.

The Kospi stood at 8,952.62 as of 9:21 a.m., down 99.80 points, or 1.10 percent, from the previous session, according to Korea Exchange. The index opened at 8,954.43, off 97.99 points, or 1.08 percent, and hovered around the 8,950 level in early trade.

Foreign investors led the decline on the main board, posting net selling of 1.028 trillion won (approximately $675 million). Individual investors absorbed much of the selling pressure with net purchases of 971.4 billion won, while institutions added 40 billion won in net purchases.

The Kosdaq moved in the opposite direction, rising 11.14 points, or 1.15 percent, to 977.73 at the same time. The index opened with modest gains before accelerating as foreign and institutional buying picked up. On the Kosdaq, foreign investors and institutions recorded net purchases of 71.4 billion won and 61.3 billion won, respectively, while individual investors were net sellers of 133.1 billion won.

Fortunes diverged among large-cap semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics fell 2.40 percent to 345,500 won, adding to the index's downward pressure. SK Hynix, by contrast, rose 0.40 percent to 2.775 million won, and SK Square climbed 2.70 percent to 1.828 million won. Both stocks drew support from expectations that SK Hynix's push for a US ADR listing would broaden its global investor base and prompt a revaluation of the company.

LG-affiliated stocks surged in early trade on hopes that the group would deepen cooperation with Nvidia in physical AI and robotics. As of 9:25 a.m., LG CNS was up 10.96 percent at 95,200 won and LG Electronics had gained 10.64 percent to 234,000 won. Robostar rose 6.32 percent, LG Corp advanced 3.76 percent, and LG Innotek climbed 3.06 percent. The buying came after reports that senior executives and working-level staff from major LG Group affiliates plan to visit Nvidia's US headquarters to discuss follow-up commercialization projects.


kacew@heraldcorp.com