Roller-Coaster Market: KOSPI Gives Up Intraday Gains, KOSDAQ Falls Below 800 for the First Time in 10 Months [fn Afternoon Market Report]

[Financial News] The KOSPI briefly turned higher during intraday trading before slipping back into negative territory, extending its sharp volatility. The KOSDAQ Index also fell below the 800 level during the session, dropping back into the 700s for the first time in about 10 months.
As of 1:07 p.m. on the 8th, the KOSPI was trading at 7,438.97, down 217.34 points, or 2.84%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange.
The KOSPI opened 2.66% lower at 7,452.48. It later rebounded to as high as 7,791.66, up 1.77%, but gave back all of those gains and turned lower again.
Among the largest-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics was down 4.05%, while SK hynix was up 0.27%.
By investor type on the Korea Exchange Main Board, foreigners had net sold more than 640 billion won, while retail investors had net sold 471.3 billion won. Institutions were net buyers of 1.1038 trillion won, stepping in to support the index.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ Index stood at 793.20, down 4.58% from the previous session. It was the first time the index had fallen below 800 during trading in about 10 months, since Sept. 4 last year.
In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners had net sold more than 50 billion won and institutions sold 17.1 billion won, while retail investors bought a net 68.9 billion won.

dschoi@fnnews.com Choi Du-seon Reporter