"KOSPI held the 8,100 level even after trimming gains"...Foreigners and institutions each bought 2 trillion won net [fn market close]

[Financial News] KOSPI gave back some of its early gains in the afternoon, but still managed to finish up 4%.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 12th, KOSPI closed at 8,123.62, up 359.67 points, or 4.63%, from the previous session. It opened at 6,263.85, up 499.90 points, or 6.44%, from the previous close.
KOSPI surged sharply at the start of trading, briefly triggering a buy-side circuit breaker for program orders. It climbed as high as 8,434.40 at one point, but the rally lost some momentum in the afternoon.
Institutions and foreign investors bought a net 2.4013 trillion won and 2.1063 trillion won, respectively. Retail investors sold a net 4.3367 trillion won.
Most of the large-cap stocks finished higher. Samsung Electronics rose 7.86%, SK hynix 2.33%, SK Square 10.59%, Hyundai Motor Company 1.68%, LG Energy Solution 4.03%, and Samsung Life Insurance 5.62%.
All sectors except real estate (-2.95%) and telecommunications (-0.96%) ended higher. Construction led the gains with a 15.69% rise, followed by machinery and equipment at 8.87%, medical and precision instruments at 6.01%, transportation and warehousing at 6.00%, finance at 4.93%, and electricity and electronics at 4.84%.
Jin-hyuk Kang, a researcher at Shinhan Securities, said, "As the possibility of a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East war came into focus, KOSPI even recovered the 8,400 level intraday." He added, "As the situation in the Middle East quickly shifted from airstrike threats to an imminent agreement, construction stocks also rebounded on hopes for reconstruction."
KOSDAQ closed at 1,029.05, up 32.12 points, or 3.22%, from the previous session. It opened at 1,027.05, up 30.12 points, or 3.02%, from the previous close.
Institutions were the only net buyers in KOSDAQ, purchasing 616.3 billion won. Foreign investors and retail investors were net sellers, offloading 343.2 billion won and 307.1 billion won, respectively.
yimsh0214@fnnews.com Lim Sang-hyuk Reporter