KOSPI Closes Lower Led by Semiconductors... KOSDAQ Drops Over 2%

KOSPI Surges Over 5% Intraday, But Closes Lower
Samsung Electronics Falls Despite Record Results
"All Eyes on U.S. June PCE Price Index Release"

The Korean stock market closed lower on July 30 after experiencing extreme volatility throughout the day.

On this day, the KOSPI index closed at 5,593.56, down 69.68 points (1.23%) from the previous session. This marks the third consecutive day of declines. The index opened at 5,681.77, up 18.53 points (0.33%), and at one point in the morning posted gains of over 5%, but the downward trend persisted in the afternoon. Foreign investors made net purchases totaling 1.3329 trillion won, while institutions bought a net 66.6 billion won. In contrast, individual investors sold a net 1.4199 trillion won.

By sector, pharmaceuticals (up 3.51%), chemicals (up 2.56%), metals (up 2.49%), transportation equipment·parts (up 2.19%), and insurance (up 1.96%) posted gains. Meanwhile, electrical·electronic (down 3.08%), medical precision instruments (down 2.10%), manufacturing (down 1.83%), and entertainment·culture (down 1.46%) sectors ended lower.

Among large-cap stocks, Hanwha Aerospace (up 6.79%), LG Energy Solution (up 6.49%), Celltrion (up 5.56%), KB Financial Group (up 4.56%), Hana Financial Group (up 3.49%), Samsung Biologics (up 3.25%), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 3.23%) rose. In contrast, Samsung Electro-Mechanics plummeted 14.58%, while SK Square (down 6.00%), SK hynix (down 5.64%), SK (down 4.19%), and Samsung Electronics preferred shares (down 1.56%) also ended lower. Notably, Samsung Electronics announced its largest-ever quarterly results for the second quarter and saw an intraday gain of over 8%, but ultimately finished the session down 0.72%.

On the 30th, the closing price of KOSPI is displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The KOSDAQ index closed at 644.78, down 17.90 points (2.70%) from the previous session. KOSDAQ started at 654.72, down 7.96 points (1.20%), and the decline deepened as the day progressed. Foreign investors purchased a net 247.6 billion won, but institutions and individual investors sold a net 143.7 billion won and 110.5 billion won, respectively.

Among leading KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, Ecopro (up 4.75%), Ecopro BM (up 4.21%), and Samchundang Pharm (up 2.69%) advanced. On the other hand, Jusung Engineering (down 15.33%), PSK (down 11.75%), Pharmaresearch (down 11.00%), and Peptron (down 10.72%) each fell by double digits. Rainbow Robotics (down 9.14%), Wonik IPS (down 8.29%), Simmtech (down 7.00%), Classys (down 6.24%), and Ligachem Bio (down 6.03%) also ended lower.

Jeongeun Lim, an analyst at KB Securities, said, “With the earnings season in full swing, the market is now seeing notable divergence by industry and by individual stocks. While there is some anticipation of a rebound following the extraordinary plunge, the remaining big tech earnings and the direction of geopolitical developments in the Middle East will be the keys to a short-term turnaround.”

She added, “The U.S. June personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index is scheduled for release today. Due to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks about monitoring inflation, attention is focused on this key Fed indicator. Whether the figure meets expectations will likely determine whether optimism over easing inflation prevails.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.