Foreigners and Institutions Lead Buying as KOSPI and KOSDAQ Close Higher

KOSPI Ends Up 1.64% at 6,687.21
KOSDAQ Rebounds After Five Sessions of Losses

The domestic stock market closed higher, bolstered by simultaneous buying from both foreign investors and institutions. The improvement in investor sentiment was largely attributed to the partial easing of concerns about interest rate hikes, following comments from a U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) board member.

On September 4, the KOSPI index closed at 6,687.21, up 107.73 points (1.64%) from the previous trading day. The index started the session at 6,654.36, a 1.14% increase, and continued to expand its gains throughout the day. Foreign investors and institutions were net buyers, purchasing KRW 503.8 billion and KRW 1.6692 trillion respectively, which led the index upward. In contrast, individual investors sold KRW 3.7231 trillion worth of shares.

The stock market on this day focused on comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who indicated a possible pause on interest rate hikes. Speaking at an event hosted by Reuters, he stated, “If progress toward the 2% inflation target continues, I would be willing to support keeping policy rates at the current level.”

Most industry sectors saw gains. Medical precision equipment (3.86%), IT services (2.65%), electrical and electronics (2.44%), machinery and equipment (2.21%), telecommunications (2.18%), manufacturing (1.93%), and securities (1.87%) performed strongly. In contrast, insurance (-3.46%), electric and gas (-1.48%), and food, beverage, and tobacco (-0.93%) declined.

Among large-cap stocks, SK Square (6.12%), SK Inc. (5.14%), Samsung Electronics Preferred (4.07%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (3.93%), SK hynix (3.20%), Samsung Electronics (2.20%), and Samsung SDI (1.67%) posted gains. Conversely, Shinhan Financial Group (-3.67%), KB Financial Group (-3.32%), Samsung Biologics (-2.03%), LG Energy Solution (-1.92%), Samsung Life Insurance (-1.82%), and Samsung C&T Corporation (-1.34%) finished lower.

On the 4th, the KOSPI index opened at 6,654.36, up 74.88 points from the previous trading day. The status of the domestic stock market is displayed on the electronic board in the dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

The KOSDAQ index rebounded after five trading days in decline. It closed at 813.50, up 23.29 points (2.95%) from the previous session. The index opened at 802.32, up 1.53%, and further expanded its rally. In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions were net buyers, purchasing KRW 262.4 billion and KRW 160.4 billion respectively, while individual investors were net sellers, offloading KRW 412.2 billion.

Among the top KOSDAQ-listed companies by market capitalization, Roboteez surged 22.54%, followed by Padue (9.43%), Wonik IPS (9.33%), Peptron (7.30%), Jusung Engineering (6.13%), ISC (6.00%), EO Technics (5.98%), ABL Bio (5.62%), Rainbow Robotics (5.15%), LIGAChemBio (4.19%), and Leeno Industrial (3.58%) making notable gains. In contrast, EcoproBM fell by 0.47%.

Jungeun Lim, analyst at KB Securities, said, "Investor sentiment improved on renewed expectations for a rate pause." She explained, "In particular, Roboteez stood out due to increased sales driven by large-scale orders from key clients in China." She added, "Attention is now focused on whether expectations for a rate pause will persist following the scheduled release of U.S. August nonfarm payroll and unemployment rate data tonight and the release of August CPI (Consumer Price Index) data next week."

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