KOSPI Closes at 6,800 Level... Fails to Hold 7,000 Mark

Rallied Over 2% Intraday Only to Reverse and End Lower
KOSDAQ Drops 3% on Heavy Foreign and Institutional Selling

On August 18, the KOSPI, which touched the 7,200 level during intraday trading, closed at the 6,800 level. The KOSDAQ also ended the session with a decline of more than 3%.

On this day, the KOSPI closed at 6,869.83, down 1.55% from the previous session. Retail investors were net buyers of 1.1978 trillion won, and foreign investors also purchased a net 55.5 billion won, but institutional investors sold a net 1.1927 trillion won, driving the index downward.

On the 18th, the KOSPI index rose more than 3% in early trading, recovering the 7200 level. The status of the domestic stock market is displayed throughout the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2026.8.18 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

By sector, IT services suffered the largest decline at -5.36%. Securities dropped by 4.09%, machinery and equipment by 3.90%, construction by 3.50%, medical and precision devices by 3.08%, entertainment and culture by 3.05%, pharmaceuticals by 2.08%, electric and gas by 1.72%, general services by 1.68%, and manufacturing by 1.59%, indicating a broad-based decline across most sectors.

Among the large-cap stocks on the KOSPI, most closed lower except for SK hynix (up 1.03%) and Samsung Life Insurance (up 3.16%). Samsung Electronics fell by 2.19%, SK Square declined by 1.65%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics dropped by 7.57%, Hyundai Motor by 3.97%, LG Energy Solution by 5.01%, and Samsung Biologics by 1.10%.

The KOSDAQ ended trade at 834.20, down 3.52% from the previous session. Retail investors purchased a net 454.3 billion won, while foreign investors and institutional investors sold a net 22.5 billion won and 416.4 billion won, respectively.

Among KOSDAQ large-cap stocks, most share prices declined, including Alteogen (-5.09%), EcoPro (-6.94%), EcoPro BM (-6.51%), Rainbow Robotics (-6.19%), Wonik IPS (-3.60%), LIG Nex1 (-4.24%), and ABL Bio (-5.11%). However, Jusung Engineering and EO Technics each rose by 0.84% and 2.48%, respectively. HLB remained unchanged at 43,150 won.

Kyungmin Lee, an analyst at Daishin Securities, commented, "Although investment sentiment in the memory segment of the semiconductor industry remains favorable, rising international oil prices and market interest rates acted as downward pressures." He added, "Geopolitical uncertainties surrounding the United States and Iran have resurfaced, causing the market to give up earlier gains."

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