Institutions net buy 717.1 billion won for 4th consecutive session
Foreign investors, individuals both sell; foreigners extend selling streak to 7 days
Index briefly recovers 5,170 before closing at 5,018.85
Samsung Electronics, SK hynix edge up but fail to lift broader market
Kosdaq also drops 0.82%; Alteogen plunges 16%
Institutional investors stepped in with more than 717 billion won ($516 million) in net purchases Monday, but their efforts were not enough to halt the Kospi's slide.
Battered by simultaneous selling from foreign investors and individuals, the index briefly rebounded to the 5,170 level during the session before surrendering all gains and closing lower for a third consecutive trading day. Large-cap semiconductor stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix edged up, but the gains were too modest to drive a broader index recovery.
According to Korea Exchange, the Kospi closed Monday down 40.84 points, or 0.81 percent, at 5,018.85 — its lowest closing level since Feb. 2, when it finished at 4,949.67.
The index opened down 25.49 points, or 0.50 percent, at 5,034.20 and spent much of the session searching for direction. Early in the day it slid as far as 4,990.66, a decline of 1.36 percent, briefly surrendering the 5,000 threshold, before rebounding as much as 2.24 percent to 5,172.94. It turned lower again in the final stretch, ultimately closing in negative territory for the third straight session.
Persistent foreign selling has been a key driver of the Kospi's weakness. At the close of the regular session, foreign investors posted net selling of 688.9 billion won on the main board, extending their selling streak to seven consecutive trading days. Individuals also net sold 488.9 billion won on the day.
Institutional investors were the sole net buyers, purchasing 717.1 billion won on a net basis for a fourth straight session. Among institutions, financial investment firms led the way with 1.11 trillion won in net purchases.
Monday's decline came despite a rebound on Wall Street at the end of last week, when bargain hunters moved into technology stocks following a sharp selloff, lifting most related names.
The Nasdaq Composite, which had fallen more than 5 percent in the prior session, rose 1.09 percent. The S&P 500 also gained 0.31 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped 0.46 percent.
Major semiconductor stocks rebounded, with Nvidia up 2.78 percent, AMD up 11.04 percent and Micron up 5.12 percent. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which had plunged 12.25 percent on Sunday, surged 4.21 percent.
The domestic market had fallen 5.28 percent on Thursday and another 6.02 percent on Friday, and appeared to attempt a recovery during the session. However, with no clear buying force to absorb the selling pressure, the semiconductor heavyweights' modest gains ultimately proved insufficient to prevent a lower close.
The two semiconductor giants had expanded their intraday gains to between 3 and 5 percent at one point, but ultimately gave back a portion of those advances. Samsung Electronics closed up 0.64 percent at 189,900 won. SK hynix rose 0.35 percent to 1,136,000 won.
Among other top market-capitalization stocks, SK Square fell 0.28 percent, LG Energy Solution dropped 5.78 percent and Samsung Biologics declined 0.40 percent. Samsung Life Insurance rose 1.07 percent, SK Group gained 0.67 percent and Samsung Fire advanced 0.33 percent.
The Kosdaq also closed lower, finishing down 5.30 points, or 0.82 percent, at 638.97. The index opened down 5.45 points, or 0.85 percent, at 638.82 and at one point fell as far as 1.80 percent to 632.70 in early trading. It subsequently swung between gains and losses and at one point posted gains of more than 2 percent during the session, but those advances were erased by the close.
On the Kosdaq, foreign investors and individuals posted net selling of 75.9 billion won and 39.6 billion won, respectively. Institutions net bought 107.4 billion won.
Alteogen, the Kosdaq's largest stock by market capitalization, plunged 16.01 percent. Ecopro fell 8.46 percent and Ecopro BM dropped 8.66 percent. On the upside, Jusung Engineering gained 6.70 percent, Simtech rose 6.84 percent and EO Technics advanced 6.00 percent.
The won strengthened against the dollar. As of 3:30 p.m. in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar rate stood at 1,347.1 won, down 9.5 won from Sunday's benchmark rate.
th5@heraldcorp.com
