Sluggish Start for Both KOSPI and KOSDAQ, Trading Slightly Lower Early On

KOSPI Drops Over 1% at Opening Before Rebounding
Foreign Investors Turn Net Buyers After Four Days
KOSDAQ Also Slips, Early Losses Narrow

On the 11th, employees are monitoring the stock market and exchange rates in the dealing room of Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. On that day, the KOSPI opened at 6240, down 0.95% from the previous trading day, and the KOSDAQ started at 840, down 0.69%, with the decline widening. August 11, 2026. Photo by Yongjun Cho

On August 11, both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ started off the session with a sluggish performance. The KOSPI dropped more than 1%, led by declines in major semiconductor stocks.

On this day, the KOSPI opened at 6240.06, down 0.95% from the previous day. After an initial increase in losses that briefly brought it close to the 6200 mark, the index rebounded and reached 6258.53 as of 9:31 a.m.

Foreign investors, who had been net sellers of over 600 billion won for three consecutive days, turned into net buyers in the morning, purchasing 49.6 billion won. Individual investors also made net purchases totaling 131.3 billion won, while institutions alone were net sellers, offloading 147.2 billion won.

More sectors declined than rose. Several sectors posted drops of over 1%, including transport equipment & parts (-1.90%), metals (-1.75%), machinery & equipment (-1.72%), securities (-1.66%), electrical & electronics (-1.54%), and manufacturing (-1.33%). Meanwhile, the chemical sector (1.41%), real estate (1.12%), and pharmaceuticals (1.11%) posted gains.

Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, most were declining. The steepest drops were seen in Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-4.1%), Hanwha Aerospace (-2.8%), SK Square (-2.7%), SK hynix (-2.1%), Hyundai Motor (-1.1%), and KB Financial Group (-1.0%). On the other hand, Samsung Biologics (1.4%), Samsung Electronics (0.4%), and LG Energy Solution (0.1%) were among the few that rose.

The KOSDAQ also opened down 0.69% at 848.59 compared to the previous day. However, losses narrowed and the index even turned upward in the early session. As of 9:31 a.m., the KOSDAQ was down 0.10% at 853.63 compared to the previous day.

In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors and institutions were net sellers, offloading 222.1 billion won and 31.5 billion won, respectively. Individual investors were net buyers, with net purchases totaling 256.3 billion won.

The number of rising and falling sectors was roughly equal. The leading gainers were transport & storage (1.40%), medical & precision instruments (0.94%), chemicals (0.81%), food & beverages & tobacco (0.70%), and machinery & equipment (0.48%). Conversely, general services (-1.63%), paper & wood (-1.45%), entertainment & culture (-1.36%), and finance (-1.09%) declined.

Once again, most of the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization were falling. The sharpest losses were recorded by ABL Bio (-3.1%), Alteogen (-2.8%), EcoPro BM (-2.7%), HLB (-1.9%), EcoPro (-1.5%), and Rainbow Robotics (-1.1%), all declining by more than 1%. JUSUNG Engineering (4.2%) and Wonik IPS (2.2%) were rising.

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