On the 30th, the last trading day of the year, Korea's stock market opened lower. After U.S. tech stocks broadly weakened overnight and Wall Street ended slightly lower, investor sentiment in the domestic market appeared somewhat dampened. Foreign investors were net sellers.
That day, the KOSPI started trading at 4,193.75, down 26.81 points (0.64%) from the previous session. However, as early losses narrowed, it recovered the 4,200 level. Foreign investors were net sellers, but the size of the net selling was decreasing.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended slightly lower. As trading volume thinned ahead of the year-end close and speculative demand that had pushed up commodity prices such as gold and silver unwound, prices tumbled, and risk appetite was somewhat subdued. Aside from Micron, tech stocks such as Nvidia and Alphabet also fell.
As a result, the domestic market was also slightly lower. Unlike in the U.S., semiconductor shares in the domestic market were up slightly, but most other sectors saw selling. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were up slightly, and SK Square was sharply higher.
The KOSPI has been moving near the record high of 4,221 points set on Nov. 3, but the pullback has been limited. Many investors are believed to expect the domestic market to maintain its uptrend in the new year. Some experts said the market will remain strong until the local elections next year.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Even if short-term profit-taking emerges and the market ends lower that day, it is expected to conclude as a historic bull market this year."
The KOSDAQ also opened lower, but the decline was limited. The KOSDAQ started trading at 928.99, down 3.60 points (0.39%), and was down around 0.4% in the morning.