The leading stock in the first half, nuclear power stocks, plummeted en masse, bringing the KOSPI index down to the 3150 level. Foreign investors sold domestic stocks worth 450 billion won in one day.
On the 19th, the KOSPI index closed down 25.72 points (0.81%) at 3151.56 compared to the previous trading day. The KOSPI index fell to the 3150 level for the first time in 10 transactions since the 4th (closing at 3147.75).
On that day, foreign investors sold a net 429.7 billion won worth of securities on the Korean stock market. Individuals and institutions bought 214 billion won and 101.7 billion won worth of stocks, respectively.
The weakness of nuclear power stocks was prominent. It is reported that this is due to the agreement reached earlier this year between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Korea Electric Power Corporation with Westinghouse of the United States regarding the termination of intellectual property disputes, which had conditions attached regarding Westinghouse's verification for next-generation nuclear power independent exports.
According to the nuclear power industry on the previous day, the agreement between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Korea Electric Power Corporation with Westinghouse in January included provisions for purchasing contracts worth $650 million (approximately 903.4 billion won) per reactor when exporting nuclear power, and a technology license fee of $175 million (approximately 243.2 billion won).
As a result, concerns have grown that a significant portion of domestic nuclear power revenue may flow overseas. On that day, Doosan Enerbility dropped nearly 9%, and related stocks such as KEPCO KPS (-8.70%), Doosan (-7.57%), Hanshin Machinery (-6.75%), and Korea Electric Power Corporation (-5.32%) also saw declines.
Among the top market capitalization stocks, Hanwha Aerospace (-6.87%), SK hynix (-1.68%), and Samsung Biologics (-0.39%) declined. Conversely, KB Financial (2.05%), Kia (1.76%), Hyundai Motor (1.15%), LG Energy Solution (0.26%), and Samsung Electronics preferred (0.17%) showed an upward trend.
The KOSDAQ index closed down 10.09 points (1.26%) at 787.96 compared to the previous trading day. On that day, institutions and foreigners sold a net of 62.5 billion won and 6.4 billion won, respectively, pulling down the index. Individuals bought a net worth of 90.1 billion won.
Among the top market capitalization stocks in KOSDAQ, the weakness of pharmaceutical and biotech stocks was significant. ABL Bio and Peptron dropped by 7.36% and 6.96%, respectively, while Alteogen (-2.84%), LigaChem Biosciences (-2.78%), Sam Chun Dang Pharm (-2.15%), and HLB (-1.14%) also fell. PharmaResearch (1.05%), Ecopro (0.71%), and ECOPRO BM (0.46%) saw slight increases.
Gang Jin-hyuk, a senior researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., noted, "There was a lot of profit-taking in shipping, defense, and nuclear power stocks that day, while automotive and financial stocks performed well to support the lower end of the KOSPI index. The news that the proposed amendment to the capital gains tax for large shareholders (500 million won to 100 million won) was not included in the Ministry of Economy and Finance's report to the National Assembly also prevented further declines."