[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-il ] The domestic stock market failed to sustain its early-session rebound and closed lower across the board. The KOSPI opened more than 1% higher but turned lower as foreign selling intensified, while the KOSDAQ also recovered most of its intraday losses but closed in negative territory for the first time in six trading days. Although the market fell as profit-taking selling emerged, particularly in semiconductor stocks, rotational trading continued in some sectors such as secondary batteries and biotech.

According to MP Doctor on the 7th, the KOSPI closed at 6,258.77, down 37.61 points (0.6%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ closed at 798.81, down 2.86 points (0.36%).

By investor type, foreign investors led the decline in the KOSPI market with net sales of 858.9 billion won. Institutions and retail investors absorbed the selling pressure with net purchases of 579.1 billion won and 267.7 billion won, respectively. In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors made net purchases of 340.4 billion won, while foreign investors and institutions made net sales of 254.0 billion won and 102.8 billion won, respectively.

Among the top market-cap stocks, semiconductor stocks continued to weaken. SK hynix(000660)closed down 4.88%, and SKSQUARE(402340)closed down 3.2%. In contrast, LG Energy Solution(373220)rose 4.34%, SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)rose 3.99%, SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS(207940)rose 2.77%, and KB Financial Group(105560)rose 2.5%. SamsungElectronics(005930)rose slightly by 0.22%, while HyundaiMotor(005380)fell 1.12%.

Top-market-cap stocks on the KOSDAQ showed mixed performance. HLB INC.(028300)rose 5.97%, and other stocks such as ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540)(4.38%), ABL Bio Inc.(298380)(3.96%), Alteogen Inc.(196170)(3.92%), ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)(2.87%), and Peptron, Inc.(087010)(2.13%) also showed strength. On the other hand, Rainbow Robotics(277810)fell 5.01%, WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)fell 4.63%, JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930)fell 4.2%, and LEENO Industrial Inc(058470)fell 1.79%.

Among individual stocks, POSCO FUTURE M(003670)rose on news of a long-term supply agreement for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials with a domestic rechargeable battery manufacturer. As the U.S. tightened import restrictions on foreign-made polysilicon and solar products, HANWHA SOLUTIONS(009830)and OCI Holdings Company Ltd.(010060)—which have production bases in the U.S.—also rose on expectations that they would benefit from these measures. Conversely, NAVER(035420)traded lower despite posting record-high revenue, as its operating profit fell short of market expectations due to rising costs associated with expanded AI infrastructure investments.

By sector, the securities sector (-2.41%) saw the sharpest decline on the KOSPI, while construction (-2.07%), insurance (-1.79%), telecommunications (-1.72%), IT services (-1.61%), and electrical/electronics (-1.29%) also posted losses. This is believed to be due to profit-taking selling, particularly in the construction and securities sectors, which had been on a recent upswing. On the KOSDAQ, machinery and equipment (-3.20%), non-metals (-2.65%), transportation equipment and parts (-0.89%), manufacturing (-0.78%), and KOSDAQ New Growth (-0.78%) all declined.

By market capitalization, KOSPI large-cap stocks fell 0.71%, while mid-cap and small-cap stocks rose 0.61% and 0.83%, respectively. Despite the index decline, the KOSPI saw 554 gainers (including 3 that hit the daily upper limit), significantly outnumbering the 322 decliners. The KOSDAQ also saw 808 gainers (including 6 hitting the daily upper limit), a figure similar to the number of decliners (829). While top-market-cap stocks, particularly in the semiconductor sector, dragged down the index, rotational trading continued among small- and mid-cap stocks and individual stocks.

Lim Jeong-eun, an analyst at KB Securities, stated, “While the banking, chemicals, and food & beverage sectors remained relatively robust and supported the index from below, the semiconductor sector underperformed amid speculation that NVIDIA’s Rubin Ultra may be considering a downgrade of its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) specifications,” adding "LG Energy Solution and SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD., among others, showed strength due to orders for energy storage systems (ESS) in North America, expectations for improved second-half earnings, and the inflow of rotational trading. Expectations of benefits from the U.S. tightening import restrictions on polysilicon and solar products also acted as a driving factor for the rise in related stocks," she analyzed.