KOSPI touches 5,200 then reverses lower, falls to 5,130 on foreign and institutional selling [FN Morning Market Brief]

[The Financial News] The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) briefly broke above the 5,200 mark for the first time ever, but then turned lower on net selling by foreign and institutional investors.
At 9:50 a.m. on the 29th, the KOSPI was trading at 5,133.80, down 37.01 points (0.72%) from the previous day. The index had opened 1.40% higher at 5,243.42 and climbed intraday to as high as 5,252.61 before reversing course.
In the KOSPI Market, individual investors alone are net buyers of 720.1 billion won. Foreign investors and institutions are net sellers of 407.5 billion won and 294.5 billion won, respectively, deepening the decline.
By sector, machinery and equipment (2.24%), electricity and gas (2.06%), securities (0.79%), and construction (0.51%) are showing strength. In contrast, pharmaceuticals (-1.73%), entertainment and culture (-1.42%), retail (-1.36%), and chemicals (-1.25%) are weak.
Among large-cap stocks, SK hynix (0.95%), Hyundai Motor (3.76%), SK Square (2.78%), Hanwha Aerospace (0.54%), and Doosan Enerbility (2.93%) are trading higher. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics (-0.43%), LG Energy Solution (-3.83%), Samsung Biologics (-1.23%), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-1.19%) are under pressure.
SK hynix and Samsung Electronics released their preliminary results for last year on the previous day and today, respectively. SK hynix reported consolidated operating profit of 47.2063 trillion won for last year, up 101.2% from a year earlier. Samsung Electronics posted operating profit of 43.6011 trillion won for last year, an increase of 33.23% year-on-year.
Brokerages expect profit-taking to emerge today following the strong earnings announcements by major semiconductor companies. Lee Sung-hoon, a researcher at KIWOOM Securities, predicted, "As the domestic stock market digests the earnings releases of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix today, the tug-of-war between profit-taking and bargain-hunting inflows is likely to intensify."
At the same time, the KOSDAQ Index was at 1,140.61, up 7.09 points (0.63%) from the previous session. The index opened 19.91 points (1.76%) higher at 1,153.43 and has since pared some of its gains.
In the KOSDAQ market, institutions and foreign investors are buying 884.7 billion won and 201.4 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while individuals are selling 992.2 billion won.
yimsh0214@fnnews.com Im Sang-hyuk Reporter