Another market sell-off... KOSPI plunges in the 4% range, with the 6,000 mark also at risk [fn Morning Market Update]

[Financial News] South Korea’s stock market has suffered another sharp sell-off. The KOSPI fell for a fifth consecutive trading day, plunging more than 4% early in trading, while the KOSDAQ continued to trade down in the 2% range.
As of 9:38 a.m. on the 13th, the KOSPI stood at 6,105.69, down 278.55 points (4.36%) from the previous trading day. After opening at 6,186.08, the index slid as low as 6,076.97 during the session. Having fallen sharply from the open and then dropped to a new intraday low, it appeared that even the 6,000 mark was under threat.
The KOSPI extended its losses after falling 0.89% on the 6th, 1.98% on the 7th, 2.62% on the 8th and 3.65% on the 12th.
Heavy foreign selling weighed on market flows. At the same time, foreign investors were selling a net 937.2 billion won worth of shares on the main board. Individual investors net-bought 475.4 billion won and institutions net-bought 389.8 billion won, but their buying was not enough to stem the index’s sharp decline. Within the institutional category, financial investment posted net purchases of 394.5 billion won, exceeding the total net purchases by institutions as a whole.
Even the large-cap semiconductor stocks that should have been supporting the market slid relentlessly. At the time, Samsung Electronics was trading at 238,000 won, down 4.99% from the previous trading day. SK hynix was down 5.92% at 1.51 million won. Both stocks were in a five-session losing streak.
By sector, electrical and electronic equipment fell 5.21%, manufacturing dropped 4.77%, transportation equipment and parts declined 4.17%, and machinery and equipment fell 4.16%. Financials (-3.29%), metals (-3.19%) and securities (-2.91%) also traded lower.
The KOSDAQ was trading at 828.45, down 20.74 points (2.44%) from the previous trading day, after falling as low as 815.80 during the session.
[email protected] Choi Doo-sun Reporter