The Kospi index, which had been setting record highs day after day, fluctuated slightly within a flat range on the 25th before closing near 3,470. The Kosdaq widened its intraday losses and fell by nearly 1%.
The Kospi index closed at 3,471.11, down 1.03 points (0.03%) from the previous trading day. It climbed to the 3,479 level in the morning but ultimately ended slightly lower around 3,470.
In the Korea Exchange main board, institutions and foreigners were net buyers of 270 billion won and 75 billion won, respectively, while individuals showed a net selling advantage of 430 billion won.
Lee Jaewon, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "With no particular issues, the Kospi held up on continued net buying of Samsung Electronics by foreign investors," and noted, "The long holiday starting on the 3rd next week is affecting risk-off sentiment."
Despite Micron, dubbed the "barometer for memory chips," posting a "surprise earnings" report, leading semiconductor stocks were mixed. Samsung Electronics rose 0.82% on concurrent net buying by foreigners and institutions, while SK hynix inched lower amid debate over the circular structure of Nvidia's open artificial intelligence (AI) investment.
The market stirred on news that Dunamu, operator of Upbit, and Naver Financial (Naver Pay) are discussing a comprehensive share swap. NAVER, buoyed by strong buying, posted the top trading volume in the regular session and finished up more than 11%. In contrast, Woori Technology Investment and Hanwha Investment & Securities, which hold high equity stakes in Dunamu, closed down 8% and 4%, respectively.
The Kosdaq index ended at 852.48, down 8.46 points (0.98%) from the previous day. On the Kosdaq market, individuals and foreigners were net buyers of 110 billion won and 30 billion won, respectively, helping defend the index. Institutions were net sellers of 120 billion won.
Among the top market-cap stocks on the Kosdaq, Rainbow Robotics jumped more than 8%. The rise is seen as reflecting expectations for logistics automation amid successive labor union strike news. Ecopro BM, Ecopro and HLB also advanced. Alteogen, PharmaResearch and Peptron ended the regular session at lower prices than the previous day.
Investors are focusing on U.S. August personal consumption expenditures (PCE) to be released on the 26th. Depending on the inflation gauge, the Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to decide on additional rate cuts.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate was 1,400.6 won as of 3:30 p.m., up 3.1 won from the previous day.