On the 17th, the KOSPI opened flat on expectations of an end to hostilities between the United States and Iran. It has been swinging around the 6,200 level.
As of 9:10 a.m., the KOSPI was down 30.81 points (0.49%) from the previous session at 6,195.24. The KOSPI opened at 6,227.33, up 0.02% from the previous session.
In the main board, foreigners and institutions net sold 505.6 billion won and 213.9 billion won, respectively. Individuals alone bought 706.6 billion won worth of shares.
Among top market-cap stocks, most were lower except Hyundai Motor (0.37%) and Kia (0.19%). Hanwha Aerospace fell more than 2%, while Doosan Enerbility (-1.44%), Samsung Biologics (-0.87%), SK Square (-0.80%), Samsung Electronics (-0.69%), SK hynix (-0.61%), and LG Energy Solution (-0.48%) were also declining.
The KOSDAQ was down 3.05 points (-0.26%) at 1,159.92 at the same time. The KOSDAQ opened at 1,166.78, up 0.33% from the previous session.
In the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions were selling 167.2 billion won and 40.2 billion won of shares, respectively. Individuals net bought 208 billion won.
Top KOSDAQ names by market cap were also weak. LigaChem Biosciences (-3.03%), Sam Chun Dang Pharm (-1.39%), LEENO Industrial (-1.39%), Alteogen (-0.81%), HLB (-0.63%), Kolon TissueGene (-0.37%), ABL Bio (-0.31%), and EcoPro BM (-0.24%) were falling. In contrast, Rainbow Robotics and EcoPro inched up 0.81% and 0.20%, respectively.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar rate opened at 1,481.4 won per $1, up 6.8 won from the previous session.
Overnight, New York stocks extended gains on expectations that a second round of end-of-war talks between the United States and Iran would be held this weekend. A 10-day truce agreed by Israel and Lebanon also helped sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.24% at 48,578.72. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 0.26% to 6,616.85, and the Nasdaq gained 0.36% to 24,102.70.