[Edaily Reporter kyoungeun kim ] On the 15th, as the possibility of a U.S. interest rate hike emerged, the KOSPI closed at around 6,627, limiting its losses despite simultaneous selling by foreign and institutional investors. In contrast, the KOSDAQ closed higher, driven by strong performance in secondary battery and robotics stocks, showing a trend opposite to that of the KOSPI.
According to MP Doctor, the KOSPI closed at 6,627.26, down 57.11 points (0.85%) from the previous day.
While retail investors made net purchases of 832.4 billion won in an effort to shore up the index, foreign investors and institutions made net sales of 1.5711 trillion won and 904.4 billion won, respectively, dragging the index down.
By stock, 253 rose, 40 remained unchanged, and 624 fell, with declining stocks outnumbering rising ones.
On this day, the KOSPI managed to limit its decline to a modest level and hold its support despite macroeconomic headwinds, such as the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield touching 5% and international oil prices exceeding $100.
Kang Jin-hyuk, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Securities, noted, “While caution remains regarding macroeconomic conditions that have reached a critical level—with the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield touching 5% for the first time since October 2023—expectations for stabilization are also emerging.”
Regarding the market reaction to the controversy over AI “speed control,” analysts suggest that an approach focused on sector rotation is more effective than risk aversion. Analyst Kang stated, “The ‘AI speed control’ narrative is more characterized by sector rotation than by risk aversion,” adding “In the U.S. as well, mixed trends emerged: CAPEX-related stocks such as semiconductors (Philadelphia Semiconductor Index -5.9%) were weak, while Big Tech and cybersecurity stocks (CrowdStrike +13.9%) showed strength,” he said.
Hwang Su-wook, an analyst at Meritz Securities, also noted, “The proposal to slow down is interpreted as a strategic move by OpenAI and Anthropic—both of which are preparing for initial public offerings (IPOs)—to redirect training resources toward inference to maximize monetization,” adding, “Since this reaffirms the sustainability of AI competition, there is no need to be pessimistic about AI infrastructure stocks.”
While most sectors—including shipbuilding, other capital goods, electrical equipment, insurance, and securities—posted losses, electrical products, steel, and chemicals showed strength.
In the domestic stock market, semiconductor stocks—which had closed sharply lower the previous day—saw limited declines today as bargain-hunting buying emerged, despite a sharp drop in U.S. semiconductor stocks. SK hynix(000660), which had opened 1% higher early in the session, closed at 1.69 million won, down 0.41% from the previous day, while SamsungElectronics ended the day nearly flat at 248,500 won, down 0.2%.
Among other top-market-cap stocks on the KOSPI, Samsung Life Insurance(032830)(4.19%) posted the largest decline, while KB Financial Group(105560)(3.19%), SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)(1.50%), HyundaiMotor(005380)(1.21%), and SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS(207940)(0.56%) also closed lower.
Among the gainers, LG Energy Solution(373220)(3.98%) surged on the strength of the secondary battery sector, while SamsungElectronics(1P)(005935)(2.02%) and others rose on expectations of a buyback and cancellation of preferred shares. SKSQUARE(402340)closed flat.
The KOSDAQ index rose 5.62 points (0.70%) from the previous day to close at 812.41.
While retail investors were net sellers by 139.8 billion won, foreign and institutional investors were net buyers by 23.8 billion won and 110.7 billion won, respectively, driving the index higher.
With 787 stocks rising—nearly matching the 842 that fell—a solid upward trend centered on secondary battery and robotics-related stocks continued through the end of the trading session.
On the KOSDAQ, EO Technics Co., Ltd.(039030)(4.32%), ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)(3.56%), Rainbow Robotics(277810)(3.09%), ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540)(2.98%), and SIMMTECH Co., Ltd.(222800)(0.64%) rose, while Alteogen Inc.(196170)and ROBOTIS(108490)closed flat.
On the other hand, semiconductor equipment stock JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930)(6.41%) closed sharply lower, while WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)(1.54%) and LEENO Industrial Inc(058470)(1.23%) also declined, posting weak performance.