KOSPI Closes Lower After Hitting Record High as Lunar New Year Holiday Fuels Volatility

[Financial News] The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) swung sharply like a roller coaster ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
On the 13th, the KOSPI closed at 5,507.01, down 15.26 points, or 0.28%, from the previous session. The index opened lower, then reversed course and climbed to as high as 5,583.74, setting a new all-time intraday high. However, it turned downward again toward the end of the session and finished in negative territory.
Foreign investors showed strong selling. Individuals and institutions were net buyers of 712.1 billion won and 80.8 billion won, respectively, while foreign investors posted a net selling balance of 976 billion won.
Samsung Electronics broke through the 180,000 won level for the first time. Its share price closed at 181,200 won, up 2,600 won, or 1.46%, from the previous day. During the session, it rose to 184,400 won, marking a new record high. The rally is seen as being driven by news a day earlier that Samsung Electronics had begun mass production and shipment of the industry's highest-performance sixth-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM4) for the first time in the world.
As a result, Samsung Electronics preferred shares overtook Hyundai Motor to become the third-largest stock on the KOSPI by market capitalization. The preferred shares ended the day up 4.50% from the previous session.
Among other large-cap stocks, Doosan Enerbility (up 1.26%) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 0.74%) were strong. In contrast, SK hynix (down 0.90%), Hyundai Motor (down 1.38%), LG Energy Solution (down 3.66%), and Samsung Biologics (down 0.52%) declined.
By sector, securities, telecommunications, entertainment and culture, paper and lumber, finance, and real estate advanced. Retail, metals, chemicals, IT services, transportation equipment and parts, textiles and apparel, and transportation and warehousing were weak.
The KOSDAQ index closed at 1,106.08, down 19.91 points, or 1.77%, from the previous trading day. During the session, the KOSDAQ widened its losses and at one point fell below the 1,100 level.
Jungeun Lim, a researcher at KB Securities, noted, "The KOSPI climbed into the 5,580 range during the session, renewing its record high for a second straight day, but closed lower as profit-taking emerged near the close," adding, "Volatility is increasing ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday."
Lim went on to explain, "Large-cap stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix led the index higher early in the session, but they gave back much of their gains toward the end," and added, "The KOSDAQ finished lower, weighed down by weakness in large-cap names."

jisseo@fnnews.com Seo Min-ji Reporter