KOSPI plunges more than 5% intraday, pares losses and recovers the 5,500 mark

[Financial News] The KOSPI recovered the 5,500 mark after plunging more than 5% intraday and then paring its losses. Foreign investors are net sellers of more than 1.7 trillion won, while retail investors are absorbing the selling with net purchases of around 1.3 trillion won.
According to the Korea Exchange, as of 11:21 a.m. on the 5th, the KOSPI was trading at 5,514.69, down 169.11 points (2.98%) from the previous trading day. At 10:03:20 a.m., it stood at 5,492.14, down 3.37%, but later slid to as low as 5,386.29, taking its decline to 5.23%. It has now risen 128.40 points from its intraday low, recouping some of its losses.
As losses widened intraday, a sell-sidecar was triggered on the main board at around 10:16 a.m. This followed a sharp drop in KOSPI 200 futures prices.
Foreign investors’ selling has continued. On the main board, their net sales totaled 1.7084 trillion won, up 719.9 billion won from 988.5 billion won at around 10 a.m. Over the same period, retail investors’ net purchases rose from 751.3 billion won to 1.3777 trillion won. Institutions are net buyers of 261.5 billion won.
Large-cap semiconductor stocks have pared some of their losses from the morning but remain lower. Samsung Electronics was trading at 207,500 won, down 10,500 won (4.82%) from the previous trading day. SK hynix was at 1,308,000 won, down 88,000 won (6.30%). At around 10 a.m., the two stocks were down 5.16% and 7.16%, respectively.
By contrast, Celltrion (7.25%), Hyundai Motor Company (4.94%) and KB Financial Group (3.96%) are among the stocks trading higher. By sector, pharmaceuticals (4.57%), food, beverages and tobacco (3.37%), and electricity and gas (3.14%) are also up, moving in the opposite direction from semiconductor stocks.
The KOSDAQ has also rebounded from its intraday low and is trading at 693.63, down 21.32 points (2.98%) from the previous trading day. It fell as low as 679.97 intraday, reaching a decline of 4.89%. Foreign investors and institutions are net sellers of 191.9 billion won and 15.1 billion won, respectively, while retail investors are net buyers of 203.3 billion won.

[email protected] Lee Jeong-hwa Reporter