[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-il ] The KOSPI approached the 6,800 level during the session and rose by more than 1% at one point, but it gave up all its gains due to net selling by foreign investors and weakness in large-cap stocks. The KOSDAQ continued its upward trend, closing higher for the third consecutive trading day. Amid ongoing concerns over additional interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), the domestic stock market saw a rotation of buying from the semiconductor sector to non-semiconductor sectors such as machinery and transportation.

According to MP Doctor on the 17th, the KOSPI closed at 6,715.41, down 2.56 points (0.04%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 6,779.02, up 0.91%, but extended its losses after briefly dipping to 6,697.85 during the morning session. It rebounded in the afternoon, rising as high as 6,788.13 intraday, but gave up those gains toward the end of the session and closed slightly lower.

By investor type, retail investors were net buyers of 510.4 billion won, while institutional investors were net buyers of 243.3 billion won. Foreign investors were net sellers of 2.4582 trillion won. Foreign investors continued their net selling trend on the KOSPI for the seventh consecutive trading day.

At the close, large-cap stocks fell 0.07%, while mid-cap and small-cap stocks rose 0.33% each. By sector, non-semiconductor sectors showed strength, with transportation equipment and parts up 2.4%, machinery and equipment up 1.97%, and transportation and warehousing up 1.77%. In contrast, the electrical and electronics sector fell 0.57%.

Among the top market-cap stocks, SamsungElectronics(005930)fell 0.39%, and SK hynix(000660)fell 0.8%. SamsungElectronics(1P)(005935)(-0.67%), SKSQUARE(402340)(-1.18%), SamsungElectroMechanics(009150)(-3.69%), LG Energy Solution(373220)(-0.54%), and SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS(207940)(-0.92%) also posted losses. In contrast, HyundaiMotor(005380)rose 0.28%, KB Financial Group(105560)rose 1.41%, and SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION(028260)rose 0.57%.

The KOSDAQ closed at 822.18, up 6.20 points (0.76%) from the previous trading day. The KOSDAQ opened 0.51% higher at 820.16 and extended its gains during the session. Retail investors and foreign investors were net sellers of 27.3 billion won and 34.3 billion won, respectively, while institutions were net buyers of 47.1 billion won.

By sector, publishing and media reproduction rose 3.58%, while metals gained 2.41% and transportation equipment and parts rose 2.09%. Among the top market-cap stocks, Alteogen Inc.(196170)fell 0.59%, ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540) dropped 1.34%, WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810) declined 1.17%, EO Technics Co., Ltd.(039030) fell 1.18%, and SIMMTECH Co., Ltd.(222800) dropped 1.91%. ECOPRO CO., LTD(086520)rose 0.12%, JUSUNG ENGINEERING Co.,Ltd.(036930) 0.99%, Rainbow Robotics(277810) 1.18%, LEENO Industrial Inc(058470) 0.76%, and ROBOTIS(108490) 0.32%.

Overnight, all three major U.S. stock indices fell for the third consecutive trading day. At the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Fed raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to a range of 3.75–4.00%. The dot plot and hawkish remarks by Fed Chairman Kevin Wash heightened concerns about additional rate hikes this year.

With 16 of the 18 Fed members anticipating another rate hike this year, the interest rate futures market is pricing in an 88% or higher probability of at least one additional hike before year-end. Chair Wash emphasized that inflation remains above target and shows no clear signs of improvement. U.S. retail sales in August rose 1.2% month-over-month, exceeding market expectations.

U.S. semiconductor stocks held up relatively well. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.63%, while Intel and AMD gained 4.03% and 1.65%, respectively. Nvidia also rose 0.82%. In the domestic stock market, while semiconductor stocks fell slightly, rotational trading spread to non-semiconductor sectors such as machinery and equipment, transportation, and insurance.

Defense stocks also showed strength. HANWHA SYSTEMS(272210)rose over 12% on news of a partnership with a United Arab Emirates (UAE) defense firm to build an integrated air defense network, while HANWHA AEROSPACE(012450)also gained over 4%. Aerospace stocks rose on news that SpaceX is moving forward with the first Earth-orbit flight of its large spacecraft, Starship.

Lim Jeong-eun, an analyst at KB Securities, said “Although the fact that next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be held just before the U.S. midterm elections is a source of concern, given the strong economy and the fact that the monetary policy stance remains accommodative, we expect the Fed to implement an additional rate hike in October to curb inflation,” she said. “We need to monitor whether the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announces further tightening at its monetary policy meeting scheduled for tomorrow and assess the resulting reaction in financial markets.”