[Closing Market] KOSPI Closes Nearing 7,000 on Foreign Buying Spree
On Aug. 14, the domestic stock market continued its unstoppable upward trend, boosted by strong buying momentum from foreign investors. The KOSPI index achieved the remarkable feat of breaking through the dream height of the 7,000 mark at one point during intraday trading, but closed at the 6,970 le
On August 14, the Korean stock market, measured by the KOSPI index, continued its upward trend fueled by substantial buying from foreign investors. The KOSPI index reached a historic high of 7,000 points during intraday trading before settling at 6,970 points as profit-taking orders emerged ahead of a public holiday. Despite expectations of stabilization in U.S. inflation indicators, the index managed to expand its gains due to heavy inflow of foreign capital into large-cap stocks, particularly semiconductor firms such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
The KOSPI index closed at 6,977.94 points, marking an increase of 164.60 points (2.42%) from the previous trading day, representing five consecutive days of upward movement.
Foreign investors played a significant role in driving the market's performance. They aggressively bought stocks with high market capitalization, including semiconductor firms, automobiles, and secondary batteries, resulting in net purchases of 3.038 trillion won (approximately $2.14 billion) in a single day. This marked a record-breaking scale in foreign investments on the KOSPI market.
On the other hand, retail and institutional investors took profits, selling a combined 3.011 trillion won worth of stocks. In the KOSDAQ market, retail investors net bought 315.1 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors each sold sizable amounts, limiting the index's upward potential.
Semiconductor stocks, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and the automobile and shipbuilding sectors, driven by Hyundai Motor, emerged as key movers in the market. The positive performance of these sectors, influenced by favorable U.S. stock market trends, attracted significant funds to domestic firms. Samsung Electronics experienced a 2.43% increase, soaring to 275,500 won, while SK Hynix rose by 3.26%.
Hyundai Motor's stock showed the most impressive performance, jumping by 8.24%, contributing significantly to the index's rise. Other top performers included SK Square and EcoPro, while Alteogen struggled with a 1.10% decline. The won/dollar exchange rate also experienced a slight downward trend, ending at 1,418.3 won per dollar, as reduced inflation expectations and a potential easing of U.S. interest rate hikes diminished the dollar's strength.
Written by urgent.news from BusinessKorea's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
