Kospi down 0.37% to 5,529; Kosdaq falls 1.24%

Wall Street's three major indexes all decline; Brent crude tops $116

FOMC, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix earnings in focus this week

Screens at Hana Bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, display Kospi and won-dollar exchange rate figures Monday morning. The Kospi opened down 51.25 points (0.92%) at 5,499.05. [Yonhap]
Screens at Hana Bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, display Kospi and won-dollar exchange rate figures Monday morning. The Kospi opened down 51.25 points (0.92%) at 5,499.05. [Yonhap]

The Kospi opened below the 5,500 mark Monday, weighed down by a surge in global oil prices amid escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran, before paring some of its losses.

Wall Street's three major indexes all fell over the weekend, and Samsung Electronics was trading lower on the domestic market. SK hynix, by contrast, rose more than 1%, with the two semiconductor heavyweights moving in opposite directions.

As of 9:15 a.m., the Kospi was down 20.63 points (0.37%) at 5,529.67, according to Korea Exchange. The index had opened 51.25 points (0.92%) lower at 5,499.05.

On the main Kospi market, institutional investors and foreign investors were net sellers of 9.1 billion won ($6.87 million) and 7 billion won, respectively. Retail investors were net buyers of 3.6 billion won.

Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics was trading down 1,500 won (0.70%) at 214,000 won. SK hynix was up 22,000 won (1.72%) at 1,299,000 won.

Samsung Electronics preferred shares (-1.19%), LG Energy Solution (-2.09%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-0.27%), Hyundai Motor (-1.69%) and KB Financial Group (-0.85%) were all lower. SK Square (0.65%), Samsung Biologics (0.41%) and Samsung Life Insurance (1.43%) were trading higher.

On Wall Street, all three major indexes fell Friday (local time) on the back of rising military tensions in the Middle East and surging oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.23%, while the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.52% and 0.21%, respectively.

Reports that the United States and Israel were considering resuming airstrikes against Iran pushed December-delivery Brent crude to $116.72 per barrel, its highest level since April 29. West Texas Intermediate also climbed back above $100, reaching $103.27 per barrel.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index bucked the trend, however, rising 0.4%, with Micron gaining 2.5%.

Domestic markets are expected to remain volatile this week as investors brace for a series of major events: third-quarter earnings from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, and results from major US technology companies. SK hynix is set to report Wednesday, followed by Samsung Electronics on Thursday. Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon are among the US tech giants scheduled to release their results.

Analysts said additional shareholder return policies from domestic semiconductor companies are a key variable for any market rebound. Samsung Electronics completed a 15 trillion won ($11.3 billion) buyback on Oct. 6, and SK hynix wrapped up a 40 trillion won buyback on Wednesday, leaving the market with fewer buyers to absorb foreign selling.

The Kosdaq was down 9.30 points (1.24%) at 742.39 at the same time, having opened 9.52 points (1.27%) lower at 742.17.

On the Kosdaq market, retail investors were net buyers of 35.7 billion won. Foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of 23.1 billion won and 11.9 billion won, respectively.

Among Kosdaq large-cap stocks, Alteogen (-1.11%), Ecopro (-2.34%), Ecopro BM (-2.80%), Jusung Engineering (-3.89%), HLB (-2.52%), EO Technics (-2.85%), Leeno Industrial (-0.65%), Sam Chun Dang Pharm (-1.46%) and Wonik IPS (-2.20%) were all lower. Rainbow Robotics (1.42%) was trading higher.

"The Kospi is expected to remain volatile this week as it navigates a series of major domestic and international events, including the October FOMC meeting, the US September personal consumption expenditures price index, earnings from major US tech companies such as Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft, and results from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. Kiwoom Securities forecast the Kospi's trading range for the week at 5,300 to 5,800.


hajun825@heraldcorp.com