[Opening Market] KOSPI Battles to Hold 5,000 Amid Heavy Foreign Selling

Korea's stock market began trading on November 9 amidst uncertainty, with the KOSPI index struggling to hold above 5,000 points. After the market's 'Black Friday' plunge the previous day, circuit breaker rules were triggered due to worries over the AI industry's profitability, U.S. politics, and forex market instability. Foreign investors, particularly from abroad, aggressively sold domestic stocks, causing the KOSPI to fall 25.49 points (0.50%) to 5,034.20 as of the opening bell.

Despite a brief rebound in U.S. semiconductor technology stocks, the foreign selling continued to pressure the market. The KOSDAQ index also saw a downward trend, slipping 5.45 points (0.85%) to 638.82 in early trading. Experts believe that short-term rebounds are only temporary, as overall market sentiment remains negative due to foreign supply and demand instability and concerns over U.S. technology stock earnings.

From 10:00 a.m., foreign investors continued their sell-off, netting over 500 billion won (approximately $367.6 million) in the KOSPI market, while domestic investors managed to net around 320 billion won in buying. Institutional investors, including pension funds and financial institutions, showed a mixed response, with net buying advantages of around 150 billion won in the KOSPI and 150 billion won in the KOSDAQ.

Despite the fluctuating market, semiconductor stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix showed the greatest volatility, with Samsung Electronics failing to break the 189,000 won barrier and SK hynix recovering to 1,145,000 won. Other large-cap stocks displayed mixed trends, with some falling and others rising, while the won-to-dollar exchange rate hovered around 1,360 won.