Taking a Breather Ahead of the FOMC... Retail Investors Buy Alone as KOSPI Stays in a Narrow Range [Morning Market Update]

[Financial News] KOSPI is moving in a narrow range as profit-taking emerges, led by Samsung Electronics.
At 10:30 a.m. on the 17th, KOSPI was trading at 8,699.21, down 27.39 points, or 0.31%, from the previous session. The index opened 1.2% lower at 8,622.13 and has since been moving slightly below the flat line.
On the Korea Exchange Main Board Market, individual investors were the only net buyers, purchasing 1.2049 trillion won worth of shares. Foreign investors and institutions were net sellers, offloading 976.0 billion won and 249.6 billion won, respectively.
By sector, electricity and gas services rose 2.89%, medical and precision instruments gained 2.30%, and financials advanced 0.96%. In contrast, distribution fell 2.84%, metals dropped 1.33%, and securities declined 1.20%.
Among the largest-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics was trading at 335,500 won, down 2.19%. SK hynix rose 0.88%, while SK Square climbed 5.0%.
Overnight, U.S. stock market gains were limited as investors awaited the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, even amid hopes for a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran. Profit-taking hit semiconductor stocks such as Micron, which fell 6.2%, and Intel Corporation, which dropped 8.5%. Money pulled out of tech stocks flowed into SpaceX-related themes, leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), and options listings.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at KIWOOM Securities Co., Ltd., said, "Following the pause in U.S. semiconductor stocks the previous day, short-term profit-taking is appearing in domestic semiconductors." She added, "Given that the overall market environment is at least neutral, the market is likely to see rotational buying into other sectors during the session, which should help narrow the losses."
KOSDAQ was trading at 1,024.69, up 6.01 points, or 0.59%, from the previous session. The index opened at 1,019.88, up 0.12% from the prior close.
On the KOSDAQ market, individual investors were the only net buyers, purchasing 122.8 billion won worth of shares. Foreign investors and institutions sold 122.2 billion won and 3.3 billion won worth of shares, respectively.

[email protected] Park Ji-yeon Reporter