On the 28th, the KOSPI fell below the 6,800 level. Investor sentiment weakened on news that the United States is considering a new tariff on imported semiconductors. Although share buybacks by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continued, both stocks fell sharply.

The KOSPI closed at 6,788.88, down 123.49 points (1.79%) from the previous trading day. Opening around the 6,800 level, the KOSPI at one point pared losses intraday to reclaim the 6,900 level, but eventually sank to the 6,780 level.

On the 28th, shares of the semiconductor "two tops," Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, fall together, pulling the KOSPI down nearly 2%. Dealers work at the Hana Bank headquarters dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul./Courtesy of Yonhap News

In the main board, foreigners were net sellers of more than 2 trillion won. Institutions, including pension funds, also showed a selling bias of nearly 400 billion won. A corporation presumed to be Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which released a large shareholder-return policy earlier, was a net buyer of 1.6 trillion won, and retail money also flowed in, but the market weakened as large semiconductor stocks fell.

U.S. stocks rose the previous day. After Nvidia released strong earnings, labor indicators were also solid, boosting tech shares in particular. Nvidia rose 8.7%. But our market opened lower on news that the U.S. administration is considering imposing a tariff on imported semiconductors.

Kang Jin-hyeok, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "If the U.S. administration imposes a tariff on imported semiconductors, the burden will be passed on to U.S. corporations as well, so it is likely a negotiating card," while noting, "The discussion is a factor that increases volatility in our market, where semiconductors have a large weighting." While our market fell, Taiwan's market, which exports many semiconductors to the United States, rose that day.

Other corporations concentrated net buying in the electrical and electronics sector, but Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell 3% to 4% each. SK Square(402340) also fell nearly 4%.

Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electro-Mechanics(009150) rose, but Samsung Biologics(207940), which released a plan for a large shareholder-allotted rights offering worth 3 trillion won, plunged nearly 7%.

While the KOSPI fell, the KOSDAQ ended slightly higher. It closed at 838.41, up 0.76 points (0.09%) from the previous day. Alteogen climbed nearly 3%, and PharmaResearch also surged.

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