KOSPI Rises in Early Trade on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Gains, While KOSDAQ Weakens

KOSPI, Foreign and Institutional Net Buying as Individuals Sell

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Up More Than 3% and 2%, Electronics Sector Strong

KOSDAQ Down 1.7% as Bio Stocks Weaken

The KOSPI index is showing strength in early trading, buoyed by gains in the electrical and electronics sector, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. In contrast, the KOSDAQ index is down by about 1.7%.

On the 12th, the KOSPI index started the session at 6,438.5, up 92.9 points from the previous trading day, with the status of the domestic stock market displayed on the electronic board at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. On the same day, the KOSDAQ index started the session at 854.85, down 2.99 points from the previous trading day. August 12, 2026. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

As of 9:33 a.m. on August 12, the KOSPI index is trading at 6,488.33, up 2.25% (142.80 points) from the previous trading day. Foreign investors and institutions are net buyers, purchasing 355.542 billion won and 95.316 billion won respectively, while individual investors are net sellers of 411.396 billion won.

By sector, performance is mixed. Electrical and electronics (+3.20%), insurance (+2.56%), finance (+2.01%), chemicals (+1.88%), retail (+1.62%), and utilities and gas (+1.46%) are strong. On the other hand, medical and precision instruments (-1.40%), metals (-1.06%), general services (-0.86%), and food, beverages, and tobacco (-0.86%) are weak.

Among large-cap stocks, both the number one, Samsung Electronics (+3.5%), and number two, SK hynix (+2.3%), are on the rise. LG Electronics (+6.7%), SK Square (+6.4%), Doosan (+5.8%), KB Financial Group (+4.6%), Samsung C&T (+3.9%), and Samsung SDI (+3.5%) are also all posting strong gains of over 3%.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 842.65, down 1.77% (15.19 points) from the previous trading day. Foreign investors and institutions are net sellers, offloading 176.44 billion won and 57.561 billion won, respectively, while individual investors are net buyers of 245.520 billion won.

By sector, all are weak except for non-metals (+1.98%), paper and wood (+1.96%), retail (+1.16%), and textiles and apparel (+0.30%). General services (-3.29%), pharmaceuticals (-3.26%), medical and precision instruments (-1.69%), electrical and electronics (-1.49%), and finance (-1.27%) are showing declines.

The majority of KOSDAQ large-cap stocks are also declining. Bio stocks are weak, including Alteogen (market cap number one, -4.2%), PharmaResearch (-4.9%), Samchundang Pharm (-4.8%), and LIG ChemBio (-2.7%). EcoPro and EcoPro BM, the second and third largest in market capitalization, are showing slight declines of 0.8% and 0.0%, respectively, indicating mild weakness. On the other hand, some stocks such as Silicon Two (+10.1%) and TCK (+4.2%) are showing strength.

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