On the 11th, the KOSPI closed lower as foreign and institutional investors dumped shares amid the double blow of high oil prices and high interest rates driven by deepening geopolitical risks.
The KOSPI index finished at 6,909.91, down 124.01 points (1.76%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 6,802.50, a plunge of 231.42 points (3.29%) from the previous session, at one point in early trading threatening the 6,800 level. It later trimmed some losses and held the 6,900 level.
In the main board, foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 2.4225 trillion won and 1.6476 trillion won, respectively, pressuring the index. Among institutions, brokerages led the selling, dumping 1.4023 trillion won. In contrast, individuals and other corporations were net buyers of 2.4177 trillion won and 1.6535 trillion won, respectively, helping to defend against the index's decline.
The slump in the domestic stock market is attributed to the decline on Wall Street the day before. With geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran intensifying, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude topped $102 per barrel, rekindling inflation fears. As the U.S. 30-year Government Bonds yield climbed above 5% for the first time in 22 years, hitting a record high, investor sentiment froze.
On the 10th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 52,064.10, down 316.56 points (0.60%) from the previous day. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index fell 44.66 points (0.58%) to 7,591.70, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 171.62 points (0.65%) to close at 26,081.72.
Top-cap semiconductor names by market value in Korea were also hit. Samsung Electronics(005930) ended at 259,500 won, down 3.53% from the previous trading day, while SK hynix also closed down 2.21% at 1,812,000 won.
Even amid the index's broad weakness, strong inflows concentrated in certain themes such as security stocks and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC)-related names. In security names, SANDS Lab(411080) (29.80%) and AXGATE (29.94%) hit the upper limit. S2W (26.38%), Dream Security (23.29%), ICTK (13.53%), and Raonsecure (6.59%)—security and quantum encryption theme stocks—rose across the board to close higher.
The MLCC-related sector also surged. Amotech hit the upper limit (29.98%), while Samwha Capacitor(001820) (18.76%), AVATEC (14.02%), Korchip (10.36%), and HanChem (8.67%) posted sharp gains.
The KOSDAQ index also fell nearly 2% to close in the 820 range. On the KOSDAQ market, foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 356.2 billion won and 226.6 billion won, respectively, while individuals were net buyers of 569.3 billion won.