The KOSPI started slightly lower, weighed by Wall Street's mixed close the previous night. After repeatedly moving around the 5,300 level on intraday retail buying, the index gave up 5,300 on foreign selling.
Biotech stocks are strong in the domestic market today. In the KOSPI market, Samsung Epis Holdings, which was added to the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index, is gaining, and the KOSDAQ market also flashed a "red light" for biotech stocks.
As of 9:15 a.m., the KOSPI was down 32.54 points, or 0.61%, at 5,269.15 from the previous session. The index opened slightly lower at 5,293.75, but intraday retail buying of 260.3 billion won and 29.6 billion won of financial investment in exchange-traded fund (ETF) funds on the buy side lifted it to the 5,314 level. However, foreigners, who had shown net buying the previous day, switched to 300 billion won in net selling, pushing the index below 5,300.
Samsung Electronics (down 1.93%) and SK hynix (down 2.85%) are slightly lower on weakness in tech stocks overnight. Samsung Electronics preferred (down 1.05%) and SK Square (down 2.95%) are also declining.
In contrast, Samsung Epis Holdings, newly added to the MSCI today, is up 4%, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction is up 0.63%. The MSCI index is one of the most influential global stock indexes worldwide and serves as a benchmark for global investors. Inclusion in the index tends to attract global passive funds that track it. As investor sentiment shifts to biotech, Celltrion is up around 3% and Samsung Biologics is up more than 1%.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ was down 3.3 points, or 0.3%, at 1,111.90 from the previous session. The index opened slightly higher at 1,120.62 but was pushed down to the 1,116 level on intraday foreign selling. It then turned higher as retail ETF funds nearly 7.7 billion won moved to the buy side, before reversing lower again on foreign selling.
Biotech stocks are also strong on the KOSDAQ. With Alteogen up more than 2%, Sam Chun Dang Pharm (2.73%), ABL Bio (3.66%), Kolon TissueGene (1.5%), HLB (1.92%), and LigaChem Biosciences (4.09%) are also rising.
The three major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed overnight. On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.27 points, or 0.10%, to finish at 50,188.14. In contrast, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 23.01 points, or 0.33%, to 6,941.81, and the Nasdaq composite lost 136.20 points, or 0.59%, to 23,102.47.
U.S. retail sales in December last year slowed more than expected, weighing on stocks amid concerns about economic weakness. According to the Commerce Department, U.S. retail sales in December posted a month-over-month growth rate of 0%, below the market forecast of 0.4%.
With data showing consumption slowed, markets expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) could bring forward the timing of resuming rate cuts. According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch tool, the federal funds futures market put the probability of a March rate cut at 21.6%, up sharply from 17.2% the previous day.