KOSPI Swings Over 200 Points in a Day, Ends Flat on Retail Buying [fn Closing Market Report]

[Financial News] The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished nearly flat, supported by strong retail buying. The index fell to the 5,380 level during the session, but individual investors bought a net amount close to 3 trillion won in a single day, pushing the index back up. On the 6th, the Korea Exchange reported that the KOSPI closed at 5,584.87, up 0.97 points (0.02%) from the previous trading day.
The index opened at 5,491.02, down 92.88 points (1.66%) from the previous session. As intraday volatility widened, it climbed to as high as 5,609.98 and then plunged to 5,381.27, a swing of more than 200 points. In the afternoon, however, it pared losses and ended around the flat line.
In the KOSPI Market, individual investors bought a net 2.9502 trillion won worth of shares over the day. Foreign investors and institutions sold a net 1.943 trillion won and 1.1142 trillion won, respectively.
Among large-cap stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics fell 1.77% and SK hynix declined 1.81%. In contrast, Hyundai Motor Company gained 0.91%, LG Energy Solution rose 1.62%, and Hanwha Aerospace jumped 7.24%.
The KOSDAQ index closed at 1,154.67, up 38.26 points (3.43%) from the previous session. It had opened at 1,117.49, up 1.08 points (0.1%) from the prior day.
At one point during the session, gains widened, triggering for a second straight day a suspension of program buy orders, a buy-side circuit breaker known as a "buy sidecar," in the KOSDAQ market.
In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors sold 79.1 billion won and foreign investors offloaded 386.6 billion won. Institutional investors showed net buying of 472.2 billion won.
Overnight, the U.S. stock market saw its intraday losses deepen as international oil prices climbed above 80 dollars per barrel amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, including an attack on an oil tanker by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Risk-off sentiment spread, but in the latter part of the session, mention of oil price stabilization measures by the United States government helped markets recover part of the earlier losses before the close.
The domestic stock market fell earlier in the day as rising oil prices and heightened volatility in the won–dollar exchange rate prompted a pullback from the previous day's gains. However, supported by strong retail buying, the market ultimately finished around the flat line.

nodelay@fnnews.com Park Ji-yeon Reporter