KOSPI Falls More Than 3% Intraday, Breaking Below 8,000; KOSDAQ Drops 5%

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[The Financial News] KOSPI fell below the 8,000 mark intraday as a series of negative factors piled up, including the clash between the U.S. and Iran and the Bank of Korea's decision to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged. Foreign investors are leading the decline, having dumped more than 3.8 trillion won worth of KOSPI shares.
As of 1:58 p.m. on the 28th, KRX said KOSPI was trading at 7,932.98, down 295.72 points, or 3.59%, from the previous session. The index opened at 8,165.73, down 0.77% from the previous day, but widened its losses and briefly fell below 7,900.
On the Korea Exchange Main Board, foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 3.8022 trillion won and 365.8 billion won, respectively, while individual investors were net buyers of 4.0753 trillion won.
Large-cap semiconductor stocks, which had rallied the previous day, also fell sharply. Samsung Electronics was trading at 291,000 won, down 5.21% from the previous session, while SK hynix was down 2.32% at 2.191 million won. Other major stocks by market capitalization were also mostly weak, including SK Square (-6.97%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-6.99%), and Doosan Enerbility (-5.16%).
KOSPI's decline on the day is seen as a result of the clash between the U.S. and Iran, which weakened appetite for risk assets. According to Iranian state broadcaster and other outlets, the IRGC announced around 4:50 a.m. local time that it had carried out a targeted strike on a USAF base. The IRGC said it was retaliation for additional U.S. airstrikes earlier in the day on Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.
At the same time, KOSDAQ was trading at 1,073.46, down 56.67 points, or 5.27%, from the previous session. Individual and foreign investors were net buyers of 129.7 billion won and 110.8 billion won, respectively, while institutions were net sellers of 183.3 billion won.
  
koreanbae@fnnews.com Bae Han-geul Reporter