The KOSPI index retreated sharply in early trading on Wednesday, falling nearly 2% and slipping below the 8,000 mark, erasing gains from the previous day’s rally.
As of 9:06 a.m. (Korean time), the KOSPI stood at 7,964.84, down 132.09 points or 1.63% from the previous close.
Institutional and individual investors were net buyers, scooping up 58.4 billion KRW (about 38.3 million USD) and 135.4 billion KRW (about 88.9 million USD) respectively, while foreign investors offloaded 205.7 billion KRW (about 135 million USD) worth of shares.
The sell-off appears to be driven by profit-taking following the previous day’s 8% surge, compounded by significant volatility in New York markets.
Wall Street experienced a rollercoaster session, with the Nasdaq briefly plunging over 3%. Investors were rattled by reports of Iran downing a U.S. military helicopter, news of data center developer Cruso halting a major project, and jitters ahead of the May consumer price index release. However, markets pared losses on hopes of potential negotiations with Iran, ending lower but off their worst levels.
President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting imminent talks with Iran initially sent WTI crude oil prices tumbling. However, oil rebounded on news of U.S. retaliatory airstrikes against Iran just before the Korean market opened, adding to the negative sentiment.
Amid Middle East tensions, the dollar-won exchange rate, which closed at 1,510 KRW (about 0.99 USD) the previous day, opened 12.9 KRW (about 0.0085 USD) higher at 1,525.0 KRW (about 1 USD) in Seoul.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, despite recovering from an 8% intraday plunge, still closed down nearly 2%. This weighed on Korean chip stocks, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix falling 3.26% and 3.07% respectively, pushing their share prices down to 310,000 KRW (about 203.5 USD) and 2,100,000 KRW (about 1,378 USD).
The KOSPI’s top 10 stocks by market cap showed mixed results. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 3.59%, LG Energy Solution gained 2.14%, and Hyundai Motor added 1.41%. On the downside, Samsung Life Insurance dropped 4.96%, SK Square fell 4.26%, Samsung C&T declined 4.08%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics lost 2.23%, and Samsung Electronics Preferred dipped 2.06%.
The tech-heavy KOSDAQ index bucked the trend, rising 9.15 points or 0.95% to 976.96.
Foreign and individual investors were net buyers on the KOSDAQ, purchasing 3.6 billion KRW (about 2.4 million USD) and 24.2 billion KRW (about 15.9 million USD) respectively. Institutional investors, however, were net sellers, offloading 27.4 billion KRW (about 18 million USD) worth of shares.
Among the KOSDAQ’s top 10 stocks by market cap, JUSUNG Engineering surged 7.2%, Samchundang Pharm rose 3.51%, EcoProBM gained 2.92%, Kolon TissueGene added 2.82%, EcoPro climbed 2.61%, Wonik IPS increased 2.43%, HLB advanced 1.85%, and Rainbow Robotics ticked up 1.61%. Bucking the trend, Rino Industry fell 2.73%.