On the 27th, the KOSPI index fell on concerns that the U.S.-Iran war will drag on and the fallout from Google unveiling its new technology, "TurboQuant." Still, after plunging at the opening, the KOSPI narrowed its losses intraday and ended down slightly. In the Korea Exchange, foreigners net sold nearly 4 trillion won, but a flood of retail money helped the KOSPI hold the 5,400 level.
The KOSPI ended at 5,438.87, down 21.59 points, or 0.4%, from the previous session. After a steep drop, the index opened in the 5,300s, then slid to the 5,200 level early in the session on news that the United States will deploy about 10,000 additional troops to Iran. Foreign selling was particularly heavy. But as retail buying flowed in during the session, the index recovered the 5,400 level.
Jeong Hae-chang, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "With Middle East geopolitical anxiety not fully resolved and concerns related to Google's 'TurboQuant' persisting, investor sentiment weakened," but noted, "As bargain hunting by individuals centered on large caps came in, the KOSPI attempted to recoup losses."
Foreigners dragged the index lower with a net sale of 3.8772 trillion won. Foreign investors have net sold the KOSPI for seven straight sessions. Individuals and institutions were net buyers by 2.7129 trillion won and 777.3 billion won, respectively.
Early in the session, semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell nearly 4% on the back of Google's TurboQuant release. TurboQuant, released by Google Research, is an artificial intelligence (AI) model that significantly reduces memory usage.
However, as analysis emerged that the TurboQuant technology is in its early stage and global memory demand will keep growing, investor sentiment toward large semiconductor stocks appeared to recover. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix pared most of their losses and ended down slightly.
As the Middle East war made naphtha supply unstable, eco-friendly packaging materials drew attention, sending Monalisa, Hanchang Paper, KleanNara and Hankuk Paper higher.
Starting at 1,119.77, the KOSDAQ index widened losses on the Middle East war fallout and slipped to the 1,100 level, then reversed higher before the close on bargain hunting. The KOSDAQ ended at 1,141.51, up 4.87, or 0.43%, from the previous session.
In the KOSDAQ market, individuals and institutions lifted the index with net purchases of 170.1 billion won and 50.8 billion won, respectively. Foreigners alone were net sellers by 234 billion won.
With Kolon TissueGene surging more than 6%, funds flowed into biotech stocks such as HLB, LigaChem Biosciences and ABL Bio. However, Sam Chun Dang Pharm, which had jumped nearly 400% over three months, fell more than 4% on the day.