[Edaily Reporter Lee Hye-ra] Following a sharp decline at the close of trading the previous day, both markets opened lower today.
According to MP Doctor on the 11th, as of 9:17 a.m., the KOSPI is trading at 7,541.88, down 184.47 points (2.59%) from the previous trading day. The index, which opened in negative territory by more than 2%, at one point extended its losses beyond 300 points from the opening level, but is now showing signs of partially recovering those losses.
This is interpreted as being influenced by the early-session market sentiment, following last night’s close in the New York stock market—which ended lower due to news of U.S. airstrikes on Iran and weakness in semiconductor stocks stemming from negative news involving SoftBank—as well as the presence of uncertainties such as today’s simultaneous expiration of domestic futures and options contracts.
Foreign selling pressure also continues to weigh on the market. Foreign investors have been net sellers for 10 consecutive trading days, from the 28th of last month through today. As of this writing, they are gradually increasing their selling volume, offloading 285.9 billion won worth of shares.
Buying pressure from institutions, led by retail investors and pension funds, is flowing into the market. Retail investors and institutions are buying 262.4 billion won and 77.6 billion won, respectively. Program trading shows a net sell position of 175.5 billion won, combining both arbitrage and non-arbitrage trades. As today marks the first futures and options simultaneous expiration date since the listing of leveraged single-stock futures for #SamsungElectronics and #SKHynix, changes in supply and demand for spot and futures contracts during the trading session are drawing particular attention.
Among the top 100 stocks by market capitalization, only three are trading higher. The gainers are #S-Oil, #Hanjin KAL, and #OCI Holdings.
By stock, there are 122 gainers, 730 losers, and 46 stocks trading flat.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is down 28.27 points (2.97%) from the previous trading day, currently at 924.11 points. The index opened down by about 1% but has been extending its losses since the start of the session.
With both major market participants taking a selling stance, retail investors’ buying volume stands at around 45 billion won. Similar to the KOSPI market, retail investors are buying on the dip in the KOSDAQ market, continuing the trend from the previous day.
Top-cap stocks on the KOSDAQ are also seeing steep declines. Among the top 10 stocks by market capitalization, only #Kolon TissueGene and #Wonik IPS are currently rising.
As of this writing, 317 KOSDAQ stocks are up, 1,311 are down, and 85 are unchanged.
Across both markets, the sectors showing the most pronounced declines are conglomerates, non-ferrous metals, automobiles, and construction.
Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, stated, "Market volatility has increased this month, making it exceptionally difficult to navigate," but added, "I believe this is largely a short-term technical correction resulting from supply-demand disruptions caused by ETFs and the aftereffects of the market’s rapid rise, rather than stemming from fundamental headwinds. Unless signs of deteriorating fundamentals emerge, a strategy of maintaining current positions remains valid."