With the possibility of passage through the Strait of Hormuz turning international oil prices lower, the KOSPI index is moving around the 5,700 level on the 17th. Individuals who lifted the index early in the session have turned net sellers, but institutions are absorbing the supply and supporting the index.
As of 11:33 a.m. that day, the KOSPI index was up 154.81 (2.79%) from the previous trading day at 5,704.66. After opening at 5,711.8, the index has been fluctuating between the 5,670–5,700 range during the session.
Institutions with long-term investment profiles, such as pension funds and investment trusts, are net buying 143.9 billion won and 78.5 billion won, respectively, lifting the index. Foreign investors, who were net sellers of nearly 100 billion won early in the session, have turned to a net buy of 10.7 billion won. By contrast, individuals, who moved to net buying of nearly 200 billion won early in the session, are now net sellers of 311.6 billion won.
Optimism over passage through the Strait of Hormuz is seen as improving investor sentiment. Iran Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi reiterated in an interview with semi-official outlet SNN TV on the 16th (local time) that it is closed only "to enemies and those who support their attacks." In practice, ships from Iran as well as China, India, and Pakistan are said to be transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Samsung Electronics is surging more than 4% after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang disclosed at "GTC 2026" that it is producing a new artificial intelligence (AI) chip, "Grok 3." With overall investor sentiment toward the semiconductor institutional sector improving, SK hynix (2.57%) and HANMI Semiconductor (3.08%) are also strong.
Ahead of the FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange) index rebalancing, the stocks to be added are also strong. APR (6.24%), ABL Bio (3.48%), and Rainbow Robotics (2.38%) are also strong.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 1,155.7, up 17.42 (1.53%) from the previous trading day. In the KOSDAQ market, buying by institutions and individuals is lifting the index. However, at 34.8 billion won and 7.4 billion won in net buying, respectively, the buying is not strong. Only foreign investors are moving to a net sell of 9.6 billion won.
Top KOSDAQ market-cap stocks are rising. With LigaChem Biosciences jumping more than 7%, Sam Chun Dang Pharm (4.11%), EcoPro (2.33%), and ABL Bio (3.21%) are also strong.