With 7,200 in Sight... Retail Investors Hold Back KOSPI [fn Closing Market Report]

[Financial News] The KOSPI Composite Index, which had climbed as high as 7,170, closed around the 7,000 level after heavy net selling by retail investors.    According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 22nd, the KOSPI Composite Index finished at 7,017.91, up 0.15% from the previous trading session. The index opened at 7,161.61, up 2.20% from the previous session, and briefly reached 7,171.44. However, it pared its gains and turned lower in the afternoon, falling as low as 6,992.70 and briefly slipping below 7,000 during the session.
Retail selling was substantial. Foreign investors posted net purchases of 261.3 billion won, while retail investors and institutions posted net sales of 1.8793 trillion won and 36.4 billion won, respectively.
Among the top stocks by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics (0.91%), SK Square (0.53%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (3.99%), Hyundai Motor (0.42%), and Doosan Enerbility (1.41%) rose. Meanwhile, SK hynix (-1.50%), LG Energy Solution (-0.43%), Samsung Biologics (-0.78%), KB Financial Group (-1.01%), and Samsung C&T (-0.14%) declined.
The KOSDAQ (Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) index closed at 834.38, down 0.23% from the previous trading session. In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors posted net purchases of 142.6 billion won. Foreign investors and institutions posted net sales of 44.1 billion won and 91.5 billion won, respectively.
Among the top stocks by market capitalization, Alteogen (-2.16%), Jusung Engineering (-0.97%), Rainbow Robotics (-0.34%), EO Technics (-2.17%), and HPSP (-0.73%) fell. In contrast, EcoPro (0.25%), ECOPRO BM (0.87%), WONIK IPS (1.01%), LEENO Industrial (7.45%), and SIMMTECH (13.31%) rose.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, analyzed, "Meta Platforms' new AI agent, MUSE, ranked first on the U.S. App Store, raising expectations for increased CPU and server demand as AI agents become more widespread and strengthening investor sentiment toward Korea's AI semiconductor value chain." He added, "Expectations for benefits from investment projects in the United States announced by Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) also put upward pressure on the stock market."
[email protected] Han Young-jun Reporter