On the 5th, the KOSPI jumped nearly 500 points to close at the 5,580 level. As bargain hunting poured in right at the open, a buy sidecar was triggered six minutes into trading, and the index at one point spiked to the 5,700 level intraday, quickly recovering yesterday's losses. It gave back part of the gains in the afternoon and slipped below the 5,600 level, but the previous day's record plunge appeared to have entered a lull for now.
Bargain hunting also flooded into KOSDAQ, pushing it above the 1,100 level. Both markets staged a historic rebound just one day after the unprecedented activation of circuit breakers, producing extreme volatility.
On the 5th, the KOSPI closed at 5,583.9, up 490.36 points (9.63%) from the previous transaction day. Firm from the premarket, the index began trading at 5,250.92, up 200 points from the previous transaction day, and crossed the 5,700 level intraday. The strong buying triggered a buy sidecar that suspended the validity of program-trading quotes for five minutes. Buying later faded in the afternoon, and the index ended around the 5,600 level.
The day's index gains outpaced most Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei 225, which fell more than 3% the previous day, rose 1.9% to close at 55,278.06, China's Shanghai Composite, where the prior day's drop was a smaller 0.98%, rose 0.45%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng, down 2% the previous day, ended up 0.13%.
Foreign investors led the early rally, and strong retail buying flowed in before the close. Foreign investors were net buyers of 400 billion–500 billion won in the morning, lifting the index, but turned net sellers at 2:39 p.m. and sold a net 144.4 billion won by the close. Individuals bought a net 1.7926 trillion won. Institutions, however, were net sellers, with the National Pension Service offloading 87.2 billion won and brokerages selling 1.2205 trillion won.
Of all listings, 902 rose, 21 fell, and 3 were unchanged.
By stock, Samsung Electronics surged 11%, recovering most of the prior day's loss, and SK hynix jumped 10%, finishing 1% above the previous day's decline. Hyundai Motor (9.38%), Samsung Electronics preferred (12.02%), LG Energy Solution (6.91%), and Samsung Biologics (8.64%) were among the heavyweights flashing red.
By contrast, shipping and refining stocks that had spiked on the U.S.-Iran tensions flashed blue. STX Green Logis plunged 9%, while Heung-A Shipping (3%) and SH Energy & Chemical (17.64%) also fell.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ closed at 1,116.41, up 137.97 points (14.1%) from the previous transaction day. Starting at 1,023.84, the index was lifted as foreigners bought a net 831.8 billion won and institutions bought a net 741.7 billion won intraday. Individuals alone sold 1.5529 trillion won.
Of all listings, 1,670 rose and only 54 fell. By stock, EcoPro jumped 20%, while other heavyweights including Alteogen, EcoPro BM, Sam Chun Dang Pharm, Rainbow Robotics, and ABL Bio surged 12%–23%.