[Edaily Reporter KIM YOON-JEONG ] On the 2nd, the domestic stock market continued its sharp decline as profit-taking, centered on semiconductor stocks, coincided with a contraction in investor sentiment. Following the KOSPI’s drop below the 8,000 mark, selling pressure spread across the entire market, including the KOSDAQ market, where the sell-side sidecar mechanism was triggered.

According to MP Doctor, as of 1:11 p.m. today, the KOSPI index is trading at 7,898.97, down 404.44 points (4.87%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 7,933.10, down 370.31 points (4.46%) from the previous trading day. Although it briefly rose to 8,136.28 during the session, it has since extended its losses and is now fluctuating below the 8,000 mark.
In terms of market sentiment, retail investors and institutions are net buyers of 974.8 billion won and 201.8 billion won worth of stocks, respectively, while foreign investors are net sellers of 1.2128 trillion won worth of stocks.
Most of the top KOSPI stocks by market capitalization are trading lower. SamsungElectronics(005930)(-6.84%), SK hynix(000660)(-8.40%), SKSQUARE(402340)(-9.50%), SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)(-9.30%), and SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION(028260)(-5.18%) all fell sharply. In contrast, HyundaiMotor(005380)(0.62%), LG Energy Solution(373220)(2.16%), and SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS(207940)(1.36%) posted gains.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ Index is also trading at 879.24, down 50.11 points (5.39%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ Index opened at 904.53, down 24.82 points (2.67%) from the previous close, and then extended its losses, falling below the 900 mark.
In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors are net buyers of 66 billion won worth of stocks and institutional investors are net buyers of 5.4 billion won worth, while foreign investors are net sellers of 72.3 billion won worth.
Most of the top market-cap stocks are also on a downward trend. ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540)(-5.58%), ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)(-5.05%), Rainbow Robotics(277810)(-5.68%), WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)(-18.00%), LEENO Industrial Inc(058470)(-8.08%), and PSK INC.(319660)(-9.88%) were among the decliners. Alteogen Inc.(196170)(-1.40%), JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930)(-1.03%), HLB INC.(028300)(-4.28%), and ABL Bio Inc.(298380)(-4.24%) are also all down.
Analysts in the securities industry suggest that investor sentiment has become excessively subdued amid growing profit-taking pressure following the recent surge in semiconductor stocks.
Han Ji-young, an analyst at KIWOOM Securities, said, “Given that memory manufacturers’ stock prices surged during the second quarter, profit-taking pressure had already built up, and news of Meta’s entry into the cloud business appears to have served as a pretext for selling.” She added, “With stock market volatility on the rise recently, the market is reacting more sensitively than usual to news that could be interpreted negatively.”
She added, “Key events such as SamsungElectronics’ preliminary earnings announcement on the 7th, SK hynix’s ADR listing on the 10th, its earnings announcement on the 29th, and the U.S. M7 earnings announcements in late July could help revive the cooled-off investor sentiment.”
At 9:07 a.m. that day, the KOSPI 200 futures fell 6.05% from the reference price, triggering a sell-side circuit breaker on the KOSPI market. Subsequently, at 12:47 p.m., a sell-side circuit breaker was also triggered on the KOSDAQ market due to a sharp drop in KOSDAQ 150 futures and the spot index.