On the 2nd, the KOSPI index is showing a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the implementation of the U.S. mutual tariffs on the 3rd and the impeachment judgment of President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 4th. The KOSDAQ index is also fluctuating within a neutral range.
As of 9:09 a.m. on that day, the KOSPI index recorded 2,516.41, down 4.98 points (0.20%) from the previous day. It started that day at 2,525.62, up 0.17%. In the securities market, foreign investors and institutions sold a net of 126.3 billion won and 31.1 billion won, respectively. Individuals purchased 151.8 billion won worth.
The leading stocks by market capitalization are mixed. Kia (-1.29%), Celltrion (-1.03%), Samsung Biologics (-0.85%), and Samsung Electronics (-0.17%) are down. On the other hand, SK hynix has risen by more than 2%, and KB Financial and Hanwha Aerospace are showing strong performances in the 1% range.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 688.92, down 2.53 points (0.37%) from the previous day. The KOSDAQ index started that day at 696.17, up 0.68%. In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors and institutions have sold a net 65.1 billion won and 6.7 billion won, respectively, while individuals have been net buying around 78.7 billion won.
Among the top KOSDAQ market capitalization stocks, Alteogen, ECOPRO BM, HLB, Sam Chun Dang Pharm, and Kolon TissueGene are down by more than 1%. In contrast, Rainbow Robotics and HUGEL are strong, each rising in the 3% range. PharmaResearch (1.14%) and CLASSYS (0.86%) are also showing upward trends.
On that day, the won-to-dollar exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market opened at 1,471.5 won, down 0.4 won from the previous day.
Overnight, U.S. stocks showed mixed results ahead of the announcement of mutual tariffs by the second Trump administration. On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41,989.96, down 0.03% from the previous trading day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed up 0.38% at 5,633.07, while the Nasdaq index recorded a rise of 0.87% to 17,449.89.
On the 1st (local time), the White House announced that President Trump will announce mutual tariffs as scheduled at 4 p.m. on the 2nd (5 a.m. on the 3rd Korean time) and that they will take effect immediately. Additionally, the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for March, released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), came in at 49.0, falling short of market expectations (49.5) and the previous month's figure (50.3), diminishing hopes for economic recovery.
On that day, the large tech stock group 'Magnificent 7 (M7)' was strong. Tesla rose by 3.59%, Microsoft by 1.81%, Facebook parent Meta by 1.67%, NVIDIA by 1.63%, and Google parent Alphabet by 1.57%.