[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun ] On the 7th, the KOSPI index fell to the 7,400 level during trading. Amid the market’s sharp decline, the “side car”—a temporary suspension of program sell orders—was triggered this morning. Although semiconductor stocks rebounded on the New York Stock Exchange overnight and SamsungElectronics announced its best-ever quarterly earnings, its stock price appears to be struggling to gain momentum.

According to MP Doctor, as of 1:03 p.m. today, the KOSPI is trading at 7,458.54, down 592.79 points (7.36%) from the previous trading day.

The index opened at 7,919.20, down 131.13 points (1.64%) from the previous close, and has continued its downward trend. At 10:23:41 a.m. today, the effectiveness of program sell orders on the KOSPI market was suspended for five minutes due to volatility in the KOSPI 200 futures index.

At the time of activation, the KOSPI 200 futures index stood at 1,227.32, down 66.26 points (5.12%) from the previous day’s closing price. In the KOSPI market, the sell-side sidecar is triggered when the KOSPI 200 futures index falls by 5% or more and the decline persists for one minute. This marks the third trading day since the 2nd that the KOSPI sell-side sidecar has been triggered, and the 16th time this year.

In particular, continued selling by foreign investors dragged the index down. Foreign investors recorded net sales of 2.7491 trillion won in the market that day, extending their selling streak to 13 consecutive trading days. Institutions also recorded net sales of 164.2 billion won, while retail investors were the only group to record net purchases, totaling 2.8879 trillion won.

By sector, the electricity and electronics, transportation equipment and parts, and manufacturing sectors saw the sharpest declines. In contrast, the entertainment and culture, food, beverages, and tobacco, and textiles and apparel sectors were on the rise.

SamsungElectronics, which announced its preliminary second-quarter earnings today, is also trading lower. As of this writing, SamsungElectronics(005930)is trading at 291,250 won, down 26,750 won (8.41%) from the previous trading day.

SamsungElectronics disclosed its preliminary results, reporting consolidated revenue of 171 trillion won and operating profit of 89.4 trillion won for the second quarter of this year. These figures represent year-over-year increases of 129.31% and 1,810.26%, respectively, marking record-high performance. The decline is believed to be due to profit-taking, as the stock price had already risen sharply prior to the earnings announcement due to market expectations being priced in.

Kang Jin-hyuk, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Securities, commented, “SamsungElectronics’ preliminary second-quarter results significantly exceeded the earnings consensus (84.6 trillion won),” adding, “Preemptive profit-taking is occurring, particularly among investors concerned that profits have peaked following these record-breaking results.”

Kim Seok-hwan, an analyst at MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES, said, “The main reasons for the stock price correction are profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing by foreign investors,” but added, “The medium- to long-term outlook remains bright.”

SK hynix(000660), one of the top two semiconductor companies, is also trading at 2,142,000 won, down 201,000 won (8.58%) from the previous session.

In addition, most of the top market-cap stocks—including SKSQUARE(402340)(-11.97%), SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)(-9.90%), HyundaiMotor(005380)(-7.17%), LG Energy Solution(373220)(-7.90%), Samsung Life Insurance(032830)(-7.75%), and SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION(028260)(-6.45%)—are trading lower.

Hanwha Ocean(042660), which suffered a setback in the Canadian Next-Generation Submarine Program (CPSP), is trading at 88,900 won, down 27,200 won (23.43%) from the previous session.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 820.12, down 26.95 points (3.18%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 843.74, down 3.33 points (0.39%) from the previous close, and rose as high as 866.59 during the session. However, it turned lower and fell to 819.89 during the session.

By investor type, retail investors recorded net sales of 219.2 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors posted net purchases of 111.1 billion won and 110.5 billion won, respectively.

The two stocks with the highest market capitalizations showed mixed performance. Alteogen Inc.(196170)is trading at 335,000 won, up 4,000 won (1.21%) from the previous close, while ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540)is trading at 118,300 won, down 3,400 won (2.79%).

Among other top-market-cap stocks, ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)(3.39%), JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930)(-5.31%), and WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)(-9.56%) are trading lower. On the other hand, Kolon TissueGene, Inc.(950160)(2.15%) and HLB INC.(028300)(2.26%) are trading higher.