On the 13th, one day before the vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index recovered the 2490 level. During the trading session, the index rose to 2500, returning to the level before the declaration of martial law. The KOSDAQ index successfully closed with a rise in the 1% range as major investors, including individuals, foreigners, and institutions, flocked to buy. Both indices rose for the fourth consecutive trading day since the 10th.
On this day, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2494.46, up 12.34 points (0.50%) from the previous trading day. It was the first time the index recovered the 2490 level since the last trading day before the declaration of martial law on the 3rd (closing price of 2500.10). After falling to 2470 early in the session, the index saw a surge to 2500.32 due to institutional buying in the afternoon.
Though political uncertainty continued amid the impeachment controversy, institutions in the securities market bought 139.9 billion won worth of stocks, driving the index higher. Foreigners and individuals sold a net 174 billion won and 82 billion won, respectively. Foreigners also net sold KOSPI 200 futures in amounts of 92 billion won. Institutions sold 26.3 billion won worth of stocks, while individuals were net buyers of 97 billion won.
Among the major stocks in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, shares of Hyundai Elevator surged 13.29% after announcing a plan to enhance corporate value. The previous day, Hyundai Elevator revealed its value-up goal of achieving a 15% return on equity (ROE) and a 50% shareholder return rate by 2027.
As President Yoon rejected calls for voluntary resignation and expressed intentions to take legal action, stocks related to Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and other political themes fluctuated dramatically one day before the impeachment vote. Shares of companies related to Lee, such as Orient Precision (23.16%), Aitec (9.43%), Cas (8.83%), and Il Sung Construction (3.18%), showed strong performance.
In addition, Celltrion's decision to implement the largest-ever simultaneous cash and stock dividend lifted its shares by 4.6%. Samsung Biologics (2.92%), Hyundai Motor Company (1.65%), Kia (0.93%), Naver (0.96%), and Samsung Electronics (0.36%) also recorded gains. Meanwhile, KB Financial Group (-2.30%), LG Energy Solution (1.11%), and SK Hynix (-0.34%) faced declines.
The KOSDAQ index also rose above the 690 level for the first time since the 3rd of this month. On this day, the KOSDAQ index closed at 693.73, up 1.52% from the previous transaction. In the KOSDAQ market, individuals, foreigners, and institutions each net bought 28.3 billion won, 4.2 billion won, and 1.3 billion won, respectively, boosting the index.
Most stocks in the KOSDAQ market's top capitalizations also showed an upward trend. Classus (3.14%), JYP Entertainment (2.77%), HLB (2.42%), Alteogen (1.44%), Rigakem Bio (1.19%), Ecopro (1.12%), and Linocorp (0.99%) closed higher. In contrast, Enchem dropped over 8%, and Ecopro BM and Hugel fell by 2.89% and 1.62%, respectively.
Jae-won Lee, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp, noted, 'Despite weak performance in the broader Asian stock market, the KOSDAQ showed strength amid expectations for recovery in the Chinese domestic market and a surge in bargain buying.'
Meanwhile, as of 3:30 p.m. on this day, the exchange rate of the won against the U.S. dollar recorded an increase of 1.1 won to reach 1433 won.