KOSPI Turns Higher on Foreign and Institutional Buying, Touches 4,910 Before Easing to 4,890

[The Financial News] After opening lower, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) turned higher on the afternoon of the 21st, at one point climbing to the 4,910 level before easing back to trade around 4,890.
As of 2:15 p.m. that day, the KOSPI was trading at 4,892.99, up 7.24 points (0.15%) from the previous session. The index had opened at 4,808.94, down 76.81 points (1.57%), then gradually pared losses and reversed into positive territory, briefly touching an intraday high of 4,910.22.
In the KOSPI Market, institutions and foreign investors were net buyers of 342.7 billion won and 247.7 billion won, respectively. Retail investors were net sellers of 784.1 billion won.
By sector, transport equipment and parts (3.13%), electricity and gas (2.58%), electrical and electronics (0.26%), and manufacturing (0.25%) were showing strength. In contrast, securities (-3.06%), pharmaceuticals (-3.00%), non-metallic minerals (-2.99%), and entertainment and culture (-2.22%) were weak.
Among large-cap stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics (2.27%), Hyundai Motor (12.53%), Hanwha Aerospace (0.31%), Kia (4.33%), SK Square (0.82%), and KB Financial Group (2.25%) were advancing. Meanwhile, SK hynix (-0.94%), LG Energy Solution (-2.48%), Samsung Biologics (-2.55%), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-2.18%) were declining.
The domestic market opened lower after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) fell across the board the previous day amid the worsening situation in Greenland. However, analysts noted that the semiconductor cycle, centered on Artificial Intelligence (AI), helped lift the index during the session.
Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Shinhan Securities, explained, "The Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq) saw semiconductor stocks gain ground even as big tech names retreated the previous day. A shortage in NAND flash memory supply driven by hyperscalers’ data center investments has been confirmed, and SanDisk has moved to raise prices," adding, "Samsung Electronics is naturally expected to benefit from this environment. Even geopolitical tensions cannot halt the AI investment cycle."
At the same time, the Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) index was trading at 946.83, down 29.54 points (3.03%) from the previous session.
In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors were net buyers of 947.7 billion won. Institutions and foreign investors, on the other hand, were net sellers of 608.4 billion won and 308.9 billion won, respectively.

yimsh0214@fnnews.com Lim Sang-hyuk Reporter