"Today, KOSDAQ Turned the Tables"... KOSPI Fell 5% While KOSDAQ Rose 2% [fn Closing Market Report]

[Financial News] KOSPI ended the session with a drop of more than 5%, while KOSDAQ surged. The move is seen as money shifting into KOSDAQ from large semiconductor stocks after the minimum deposit requirement for single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETF) was raised.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 3rd, KOSPI closed at 6,257.45, down 338.00 points, or 5.12%, from the previous trading day. It opened at 6,358.27, down 237.18 points, or 3.60%, from the previous session, and widened its losses as the day went on.
On the Korea Exchange Main Board, foreign investors and institutions sold a net 282.63 billion won and 194.75 billion won, respectively, deepening the decline. Retail investors, meanwhile, bought a net 465.27 billion won.
Among the large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell 8.76% and 8.79%, respectively. SK Square (-1.25%), LG Energy Solution (-3.66%), Samsung Biologics (-4.18%), and Samsung Life Insurance (-7.70%) also declined. Samsung Electro-Mechanics (3.42%), Hyundai Motor Company (1.29%), and KB Financial Group (0.59%) closed higher.
Most sectors declined, with textiles and apparel (-10.16%), electrical and electronics (-7.60%), manufacturing (-6.15%), insurance (-5.06%), and retail (-4.64%) posting the steepest losses. Construction (1.74%), entertainment and culture (0.79%), medical and precision equipment (0.73%), and paper and wood (0.69%) rose.
By contrast, KOSDAQ closed at 737.35, up 17.59 points, or 2.44%, from the previous session. It opened at 709.99, down 9.77 points, or 1.36%, but later turned higher. As KOSDAQ climbed as much as 37.84 points, or 5.26%, to 757.60 during the session, a Temporary Suspension of Program Buy Order Quotes, or buy-side sidecar, was triggered around 10:28 a.m.
On KOSDAQ, institutions and retail investors bought a net 166.8 billion won and 33.7 billion won, respectively. Foreign investors sold a net 209.2 billion won.
Market watchers said investors shifted funds into KOSDAQ, which had been overlooked, after the minimum deposit requirement for single-stock leveraged ETFs on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix was raised from 10 million won to 30 million won on the 31st of last month.
Indeed, among KOSDAQ's top market-cap stocks, biotech names such as Alteogen Inc. (2.92%), HLB Co., Ltd. (0.98%), ABL Bio Inc. (6.29%), and Peptron showed strength. Robotics names such as Rainbow Robotics (5.89%), along with Materials, Parts, and Equipment Industry stocks including Jusung Engineering (2.65%) and SIMMTECH Co., Ltd. (5.55%), also advanced.
Kang Jin-hyuk, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., explained, "Although geopolitical tensions eased as the United States and Iran resumed talks, semiconductor stocks gave back some of their recent gains on profit-taking." He added, "In addition, funds flowed into KOSDAQ, which had been left behind in terms of supply, demand, and catalysts, amid regulations on single-stock leveraged ETFs."
[email protected] Im Sang-hyuk Reporter