The KOSPI index is falling on heavy foreign selling and the breakdown of labor talks at Samsung Electronics.
As of 11:37 a.m. on the 20th, the KOSPI index was down 2.07% (150.62 points) from the previous trading day at 7,121.04 points.
The KOSPI index opened at 7,324.52, up 52.86 points (0.73%) from the day before, but quickly turned lower. It briefly moved into positive territory during the morning session, then immediately turned lower again and is widening losses.
Foreign investors are dragging down the main bourse. While foreigners are net sellers of 2.2876 trillion won, individuals and institutions are net buyers of 1.1383 trillion won and 1.0326 trillion won, respectively.
Large-cap stocks on the main bourse are falling across the board. Samsung Electronics, on news that the union will launch a general strike on the 21st, is down more than 3%. SK hynix, SK Square, Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Doosan Enerbility, and Hanwha Aerospace are also declining, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is the lone gainer.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index was down 3.50% (37.94 points) from the previous day at 1,046.42.
On the KOSDAQ market, individuals are net buyers of 111.7 billion won and institutions 1.3 billion won. Foreign investors are net sellers of 104.2 billion won.
Eight of the top 10 KOSDAQ stocks by market cap are falling. Alteogen, EcoPro BM, EcoPro, Rainbow Robotics, Kolon TissueGene, Sam Chun Dang Pharm, HLB, and ABL Bio are declining. Only Jusung Engineering and LEENO Industrial are rising.
Meanwhile, the won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,509.0 won, up 1.2 won from the previous trading day on the Seoul foreign exchange market, and topped 1,510 won during the session.