On Friday, the stock market, which plummeted due to the government's tax increase proposal, successfully rebounded immediately. It is interpreted that funds have flowed in taking advantage of the recent stock market plunge as a buying opportunity. Although it did not completely recover the decline at once, the KOSPI index around 3140 is showing a relatively solid foundation.
On the 4th, the KOSPI index closed at 3147.75, up 28.34 points (0.91%) from the previous transaction day. The KOSPI index, which started the day with a slight decline, fluctuated in the early session but soon expanded its gains.
On Friday, foreigners and institutions who had launched a massive sell-off returned to net buying. However, the scale of buying was not large. Institutions led the market with a net buying of 131.8 billion won, while foreign investors, who started the day with net selling, switched to net buying just before the market closed, purchasing 83.3 billion won. Individuals alone net sold 300 billion won.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 31st of last month that it would lower the capital gains tax threshold for large shareholders from the current 5 billion won to 1 billion won and apply a maximum tax rate of 35% on separable dividends. Contrary to initial expectations of investors, the trend of tax increases on capital income was confirmed.
Investors are expressing opposition, claiming that large shareholders will negatively impact stock prices by selling stocks at year-end to avoid capital gains tax, or that the effect of separate taxation on dividends will be diluted.
These concerns were also reflected in stock prices. On the 1st, the day after the announcement of the tax reform plan, the KOSPI index fell by 3.88%, marking its largest drop since the Lee Jae-myung government took office. Even in the early session on the 4th, the KOSPI index showed an unstable appearance, dropping by up to 0.31%, but successfully turned upward as institutional buying pressure flowed in.
Lee Jin-won, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., analyzed, "The concerns that triggered the stock market collapse last Friday were deemed excessive, and the influx of buying pressure compensated for some of the decline," and added, "There may be changes in the tax reform plan, but the actual progress of discussions within the ruling party needs to be confirmed."
Han In-hwan, a researcher at KB Securities, stated, "The tax reform plan will only be made public by the government, and there is a possibility of modifications during the passage process after submission to the National Assembly," and noted, "In September, additional amendments to the Commercial Act are being pursued, and the roadmap for inclusion in the MSCI advanced index will also be announced, so sectors that may benefit from these policies will need to regain interest even after the fourth quarter."
By sector and stock, a rotation according to issues was confirmed. The current tax reform plan includes support measures for webtoons and artificial intelligence (AI), leading related themes to show strength. NHN rose by 8.53%, YLAB increased by 4.37%, and KidariStudio climbed 5.11%, indicating a strong performance among stocks related to webtoons.
In the AI field, related sectors generally started on an upward trend, but in the afternoon, the results of the Ministry of Science and ICT's selection of the 'independent AI foundation model' brought mixed reactions.
Additionally, KT&G ended with an increase of over 5% amid speculation about high dividend trends and possible regulation of liquid electronic cigarettes. Samsung Electronics briefly re-entered the 70,000 won range but closed with a smaller gain of 1.16%.
The KOSDAK index closed at 784.06, up 11.27 points (1.46%) from the previous transaction day. Institutions alone net bought 72.8 billion won, while foreigners and individuals net sold 26.1 billion won and 39.5 billion won, respectively.
In the KOSDAK market, a buying trend was observed primarily among stocks that had been underperforming recently. Additionally, Studio Mir, the production company for 'K-Pop Demon Hunters,' rose by 13.8%, showing strong performance, while Thumbage, which announced its entry into the virtual asset business, and Yujin Technology, a secondary battery company, also recorded maximum gains.
On this day, the exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market closed at 1,384.4 won, down 6.6 won from the previous day against the U.S. dollar.