[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] The KOSPI extended its intraday losses, dropping below the 6,700 mark. Foreign and institutional investors are driving the index lower with net selling.

According to MP Doctor on the 24th, as of 11:23 a.m. today, the KOSPI is trading at 6,743.47, down 353.42 points (4.98%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 7,000.78, down 1.35% from the previous trading day, and has been extending its losses throughout the session. It also fell as low as 6,704.31 during the session.

At 11:31 a.m. today, the 21st sell-side “side car” (suspension of program trading sell orders) of the year was triggered. The KOSPI sell-side “side car” is triggered when the price of the futures contract with the highest trading volume on the previous trading day (the nearest month’s contract) among those based on the KOSPI 200 falls by 5% or more and remains at that level for one minute.

By investor type, foreign and institutional investors are exerting downward pressure on the index with net sales of 1.5448 trillion won and 1.0647 trillion won, respectively. Retail investors are the only group showing net purchases, totaling 2.5715 trillion won, but this is insufficient to stem the index’s decline. Program trading, combining arbitrage and non-arbitrage trades, shows a net selling position of 2.4426 trillion won.

By sector, the electrical and electronics sector is down by around 6%. Most sectors—including manufacturing, securities, medical and precision equipment, transportation equipment and parts, retail, machinery and equipment, finance, insurance, construction, chemicals, and entertainment and culture—are trading lower. In contrast, chemicals, textiles and apparel, pharmaceuticals, food, beverages, and tobacco, and real estate are showing slight gains.

Among the top-market-cap stocks on the KOSPI, SamsungElectronics(005930)is trading at 252,500 won, down 17,500 won (6.48%) from the previous trading day. SK hynix(000660)is trading at 1,794,000 won, down 125,000 won (6.51%) from the previous close.

Following these, SKSQUARE(402340)(-8.68%), SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)(-8.08%), HyundaiMotor(005380)(-8.80%), LG Energy Solution(373220)(-5.46%), KB Financial Group(105560)(-5.33%), Samsung Life Insurance(032830)(-5.77%), and KIA CORPORATION(000270)(-8.34%) are all trading lower.

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is also showing a decline, recording 754.62—down 35.66 points (4.51%) from the previous trading day. While foreign and institutional investors are net sellers of 177.6 billion won and 199.3 billion won, respectively, retail investors are the only group showing net buying, purchasing 378.2 billion won worth of shares.