KOSPI Retreats to 6,800 Level on Foreign and Institutional Selling; U.S. Tech Rally Fails to Lift Seoul Market — BigGo Finance

The KOSPI showed weakness in early trading on August 28, retreating to the 6,800 level. Despite a strong overnight rally in U.S. technology stocks led by Nvidia, continued selling by foreign and institutional investors in the South Korean market capped the index’s gains.

As of 9:05 a.m., the KOSPI was down 45.99 points, or 0.67%, at 6,866.38 from the previous session. The market opened down 0.95% at the 6,846 level before slightly widening its early losses.

Overnight, Wall Street rallied on tech strength. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.20%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.72% and 1.57%, respectively. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also jumped 2.33%. Nvidia surged 8.74% after delivering earnings and revenue guidance that beat market expectations.

However, the U.S.-driven semiconductor momentum failed to translate into gains in the South Korean market. On the main KOSPI board, retail investors bought a net 229.8 billion won (approximately $166.7 million) worth of shares, but foreign and institutional investors sold a net 68.1 billion won (approximately $49.4 million) and 154.3 billion won (approximately $111.9 million), respectively.

Large-cap semiconductor stocks were also weak. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) opened down 0.94% at 262,500 won (approximately $190) and extended its losses, while South Korea’s SK Hynix (000660.KS) traded down 1.21% in the 1.7 million won (approximately $1,200) range. Samsung Electronics preferred shares and SK Square (402340.KS) fell 1.34% and 1.40%, respectively. In contrast, South Korea’s Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS) rose 3.18%.

The KOSDAQ posted modest gains. At the same time, the KOSDAQ index traded up 2.68 points, or 0.31%, at 840.28 from the previous session. The KOSDAQ opened down 0.29% at 835 before briefly turning positive in early trading. On the supply-demand front, retail investors bought a net 20.7 billion won (approximately $15.0 million), while foreign and institutional investors sold 13.8 billion won (approximately $10.0 million) and 7.6 billion won (approximately $5.5 million), respectively.

Among individual stocks, Alteogen fell 0.32%, EcoPro dropped 1.52%, EcoPro BM slipped 0.08%, and Rainbow Robotics declined 1.49%. Jusung Engineering rose 0.73%.

The market is closely watching Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech scheduled for 11 p.m. local time. Financial industry observers expect the speech to trigger increased volatility in the currency market.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate traded at 1,380.6 won (approximately $1), down 0.9 won from the previous session. Around 9 a.m., it had touched 1,381 won (approximately $1).

International oil prices trended higher as expectations for progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations faded. Brent crude traded around $89 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded around $83 per barrel. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, stood near 99.11.

On the previous day, August 27, the KOSPI closed up more than 1% at the 6,890 level, supported by institutional and foreign buying. The index finished at 6,896.47, up 88.26 points, or 1.30%, from the prior session, with institutions and foreign investors buying a net 152.7 billion won (approximately $110.8 million) and 45.3 billion won (approximately $32.9 million), respectively. The supply-demand dynamic effectively reversed in a single day.