KOSPI Falls to 5,600 Level... KOSDAQ Also Weak

Down more than 2% as losses widen in early trading.

The KOSPI started slightly lower on October 20 but extended its losses in early trading. The KOSDAQ was also down by around 1%.

At around 9:08 a.m., the KOSPI was trading at 5,647.53 on the Korea Exchange, down 2.09% from the previous session. It had opened at 5,733.57, down 0.60%, but extended its losses and fell to the 5,600 level.

Employees work at Hana Bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on October 19, as the KOSPI opened down 179.64 points (3.17%) at 5,488.41. 2026.10.19. Photo by Kim Hyunmin.

Foreign investors sold 211.5 billion won worth of shares, while institutions sold 354.9 billion won, leading the decline. Individual investors bought 568.7 billion won worth of shares, providing support for the index.

Most sectors were down, including machinery and equipment (-2.89%), electrical and electronic equipment (-2.80%), transportation equipment and parts (-2.61%), medical and precision equipment (-2.55%), manufacturing (-2.39%), metals (-1.77%), retail (-1.83%), construction (-1.76%), and chemicals (-1.75%). Only a few sectors edged higher, including food and beverages and tobacco (+1.18%) and pharmaceuticals (+0.54%).

Top market-cap stocks were also broadly lower: Samsung Electronics (-1.8%), SK hynix (-4.4%), LG Energy Solution (-1.3%), SK Square (-4.3%), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-3.1%), Hyundai Motor (-1.8%), Samsung Life Insurance (-1.2%), and Samsung SDI (-2.3%). KB Financial Group was unchanged, while Samsung Biologics gained 0.5%.

The KOSDAQ opened at 805.37 and was trading at 800.67 at the same time, down 1.02% from the previous session. Individual investors were net buyers of 161 billion won, while foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 119.4 billion won and 40.5 billion won, respectively.

As with the KOSPI, all of the KOSDAQ's top market-cap stocks were down, including Alteogen (-2.0%), EcoPro (-4.3%), EcoPro BM (-5.1%), Jusung Engineering (-4.5%), Rainbow Robotics (-2.6%), HLB (-1.8%), EO Technics (-1.9%), Leeno Industrial (-1.1%), Wonik IPS (-3.5%), and Sam Chun Dang Pharm (-3.3%).

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