KOSPI Falls More Than 1%, Slumps into 6,700 Range

KOSDAQ Holds Up, Stays Above 890

Employees monitor the stock market and exchange rates at the dealing room of Hana Bank headquarters in Jung District, Seoul, on Oct. 8. The KOSPI opened higher but soon fell, fluctuating around the 6,800 level. Oct. 8, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun

The KOSPI fell more than 1.2% on Oct. 8 from the previous day, slipping into the 6,700 range. The index has struggled to gain traction as foreign and institutional investors continued to sell.

As of 2:15 p.m., the KOSPI stood at 6,723.36, down 1.18% from the previous day. After opening slightly higher at 6,808.68, it continued to fall. At around 12:57 p.m., it dropped as much as 2.26% from the previous day to 6,650.29.

By investor type, foreign investors and institutions recorded net sales of KRW 1.5781 trillion and KRW 1.4817 trillion, respectively. Individual investors recorded net purchases of KRW 2.3858 trillion.

All sectors fell except medical and precision instruments, which edged up 0.07%. Several sectors dropped by more than 3%, including construction (-3.62%), machinery and equipment (-3.51%), pharmaceuticals (-3.36%), securities (-3.19%), transportation equipment and parts (-3.15%), and financials (-3.14%).

Among the 10 largest stocks by market capitalization, only LG Energy Solution (3.9%) and SK hynix (0.1%) rose. SK Square (-6.5%), Samsung Biologics (-4.4%), Samsung C&T (-3.4%), Samsung Life Insurance (-3.2%), Hyundai Motor (-2.9%), KB Financial Group (-2.3%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-1.0%), and Samsung Electronics (-0.7%) all fell.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ was down 0.12% from the previous day at 897.42. After opening slightly lower at 898.19, it briefly extended its decline to 1.62% from the previous day during the session, but has since recovered most of its losses.

Foreign investors and institutions were net buyers of KRW 800 million and KRW 27.6 billion, respectively. Institutions recorded net sales of KRW 18.3 billion.

More sectors fell than rose. Several were down more than 1%, including pharmaceuticals (-3.74%), general services (-2.81%), construction (-2.15%), IT services (-1.74%), transportation equipment and parts (-1.17%), and medical and precision instruments (-1.00%). By contrast, machinery and equipment (2.50%), publishing and media reproduction (2.46%), nonmetallic minerals (1.83%), and electrical and electronic equipment (1.25%) rose.

Most of the 10 largest stocks by market capitalization rose. Jusung Engineering (9.7%), Leeno Industrial (4.9%), Wonik IPS (4.5%), Simtech (2.8%), EO Technics (2.5%), and EcoPro BM (2.3%) posted particularly strong gains. Alteogen (-5.2%) and Rainbow Robotics (-2.4%) fell.

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