As U.S. Treasury said it would increase the size of Government Bonds buybacks and Government Bonds yields fell, the domestic stock market also opened higher on the 20th. Both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indexes are showing gains of more than 2% shortly after the open.
As of 9:04 a.m., the KOSPI was at 6,638.35, up 2.58% (167.18 points) from the previous session. The KOSPI opened at 6,680.35, up 3.23% (209.17 points).
In the main board, individuals are net buying 298.4 billion won. Foreign investors and institutions are net selling 101.5 billion won and 213.4 billion won, respectively.
Among top market-cap stocks on the main board, moves are mixed. Samsung Electronics(005930) is up in the 3% range and SK hynix(000660) is up in the 6% range, while SK Square, LG Energy Solution, and Samsung Biologics are rising. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Hyundai Motor, Hanwha Aerospace, and KB Financial Group are falling.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ was at 846.42, up 21.96 points (2.66%) from the day before. The KOSDAQ started at 843.99, up 19.53 points (2.37%) from the previous session.
In the KOSDAQ market, individuals are net buying 25.7 billion won and institutions 8.5 billion won, while foreign investors alone are net selling 33.4 billion won.
Nine of the top 10 KOSDAQ market-cap stocks are rising. Alteogen is up in the 9% range, and EcoPro, EcoPro BM, Rainbow Robotics, Jusung Engineering, Wonik IPS, EO Technics, LEENO Industrial, and ABL Bio are gaining. HLB alone is down in the 1% range.
Overnight, U.S. stocks in New York closed slightly higher as the U.S. Treasury's announcement to expand the size of Government Bonds buybacks offered some relief.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 53,463.05, up 119.65 points (0.22%) from the previous session; the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 16.22 points (0.21%) to 7,707.98; and the Nasdaq composite finished at 26,331.09, up 41.38 points (0.16%).
The Treasury said it would double the size of buybacks for long-term Government Bonds to at least $4 billion per operation from $2 billion to improve liquidity. Government Bonds buybacks mean repurchasing outstanding Government Bonds traded in the market. As Government Bonds yields fell on Treasury liquidity support, risk appetite improved slightly.