On the 25th, the KOSPI, which opened lower, erased all intraday losses and closed higher. In the Korea Exchange's main board, foreigners were net sellers of nearly 4 trillion won, but other corporations, believed to be Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, bought a large volume of shares and propped up the index.
A rotation, in which investment funds flow into sectors other than semiconductors such as nuclear power and cosmetics, also spread.
The KOSPI closed at 6,742.74, up 45.78 points (0.68%) from the previous session. After opening down more than 2%, the KOSPI slid to the 6,400 level early on, but gradually pared losses and recovered the 6,600 and 6,700 levels in the afternoon.
Foreigners were net sellers of 3.815 trillion won on the main board. Despite heavy selling by "big-hand" foreign investors, individuals and institutions were net buyers of 1.05 trillion won and 1.17 trillion won, respectively, while other corporations also showed a 1.6 trillion won buying advantage, supporting the index.
Other corporations concentrated their net buying in the electric and electronics sector. Given that the influx of funds into other corporations coincided with rebounds in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, they are seen as having focused their purchases on those two stocks.
Other corporations aggregates transactions of ordinary corporations that are not typically classified as institutional investors such as brokerages, insurers, and pension funds. Share buybacks by listed companies purchasing their own shares on the open market are also included in the other corporations flow. The recent large-scale buybacks by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are seen as having contributed to the expansion of net buying by other corporations.
SK hynix began a 40 trillion won share buyback and cancellation on the 20th. Samsung Electronics also launched a 15 trillion won share buyback for purposes including employee stock compensation. As a result, while other corporations had averaged only 96.2 billion won in daily net buying through the 19th this year, they net bought 5.38 trillion won on the main board over the four trading days from the 20th through today, increasing their presence in market flows.
Samsung Electronics(005930) and SK hynix fell 4%–5% early in the session but made up all the losses. Samsung Electronics ended flat, while SK hynix rose 0.42%.
Samsung Electronics preferred shares showed a stronger trend than common shares. With analysis emerging that the Financial Industry Restructuring Act could limit Samsung Electronics' capacity to cancel common treasury shares, expectations that preferred shares would relatively benefit were reflected.
Canceling preferred shares does not affect the common equity ratio, allowing the company to avoid burdens related to the law. Samsung Electronics(1P)(005935) finished at 194,500 won, up 5,200 won (2.75%) from the previous session.
Buying also spread to sectors outside semiconductors. Hyundai Engineering & Construction(000720) said in a filing that it is reviewing key details related to signing an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a large nuclear power plant with U.S. energy company Fermi America, jumping 14.87%. Doosan Enerbility also climbed 10.55%, with nuclear power stocks rallying in tandem.
Cosmetics stocks, buoyed by solid exports centered on the United States and Europe, extended gains. APR(278470) rose 7.57%, and Kolmar Korea gained 4.68%. On the main board, advancers numbered 647, far outpacing 226 decliners.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "The index fell sharply early on due to weakness in major semiconductor stocks, but as buying by institutions and other corporations expanded, it recovered the losses," adding, "After rotation spread to non-semiconductor sectors, even semiconductor stocks turned higher, showing a weak-early, strong-late pattern."
The KOSDAQ also finished higher. The KOSDAQ, which opened lower and briefly fell below the 800 level intraday, turned higher in the afternoon. The KOSDAQ closed the session at 827.15, up 13.82 points (1.70%) from the previous session.
On the KOSDAQ, foreigners were net buyers of 132.7 billion won. Individuals were net sellers of 136.7 billion won. Foreigners, who showed selling dominance early on, turned to net buying in the afternoon, helping the index rebound. Institutions were slight net buyers.
Among large-cap stocks, bio and secondary battery heavyweights such as Alteogen(196170) (-4.68%) and EcoPro (-3.07%) underperformed. In contrast, semiconductor equipment stocks were strong. Jusung Engineering(036930) rose 7.71%, while SIMMTECH (11.12%), Wonik IPS (5.55%), and LEENO Industrial (4.33%) also advanced together.