The KOSPI, which started slightly lower, is now down more than 1.5% as intraday losses widened.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 2nd, as of 11:10 a.m., the KOSPI index was at 3042.64, down 47.01 points (1.52%) from the previous trading day.
The index started at 3083.82, down 5.83 points (0.19%) from the previous session, but widened its losses, briefly falling to 3032.47.
The KOSPI closed the previous day up 0.58% at 3089.65 after rising for two consecutive days. It reached over 3130 during the day, setting a new record, but surrendered the gains in the latter half of the session.
Foreign investors are leading the index drop with a selling spree amounting to 365 billion won. Institutional investors are also net selling 6.6 billion won. Individual investors are net buying 440.3 billion won, but this is not enough to prevent the decline in the index.
Amid mixed closes in the three major U.S. stock indices due to a decline in technology stocks, concerns regarding tariffs announced by President Donald Trump have resurfaced, dulling investor sentiment.
President Trump noted on the 1st (local time) that he is not considering an extension of the mutual tariff suspension. He stated that he would impose higher mutual tariffs on Japan, which has fallen into deadlock in negotiations.
By individual stock, SK hynix is down more than 3% due to the decline in Nvidia's stock price the previous day, and both Naver and Doosan Enerbility are also showing weakness.
Contrarily, holding companies such as Hanwha and LS, which surged significantly on expectations of the passage of the commercial law amendment the previous day, are recording weakness today. This is interpreted as profit-taking.
On the other hand, stocks of Samsung Electronics, Samsung Biologics, LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Motor, KB Financial, and Kia are rising.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index recorded 772.56, down 11.11 points (-1.42%) from the previous trading day. The index started at 784.73, up 1.06 points (0.14%), but turned to decline.
Foreigners are similarly engaged in selling in the KOSDAQ, net selling 186.1 billion won. Individuals and institutions are net buying 196.8 billion won and 2 billion won, respectively.
Most of the stocks in the KOSDAQ market capitalization top 10 are declining. While Ecopro BM and Ecopro are both marking weakness, the stock prices of Rainbow Robotics and PharmaResearch are also falling.
Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization in the KOSDAQ market, only Alteogen, LigaChem Biosciences, and CLASSYS are showing price increases.