Concerns over the trade conflicts between the United States and China continue, leading to a sharp decline in the New York stock market; however, warmth spread in the domestic stock market. Amid positive messages from talks between the United States and Japan, there is an expectation that Korea, included among the primary targets for negotiation with the United States alongside Japan, may smoothly avoid tariff risks. In fact, both the Japanese stock market and KOSPI and KOSDAQ showed signs of recovering lost ground from the previous day.
On the 17th, the KOSPI index recorded an increase of 22.87 points (0.93%) to close at 2470.30. The index started at 2451.70, which was up 0.17% from the previous day, and although it briefly turned lower in the early session, it expanded its gains after the Monetary Policy Committee's decision on the benchmark interest rate.
Institutional investors raised the index by net purchasing 346.2 billion won. Individual and foreign investors sold off a net 87.4 billion won and 352 billion won, respectively. However, in the KOSPI 200 futures market, individuals and institutional investors both showed a selling advantage, while foreign investors net purchased 200.1 billion won, betting on the index's rise.
In the securities market, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and HANMI Semiconductor, which fell the previous day due to news of the Trump administration's semiconductor export restrictions to China, closed higher. News that the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published an opinion piece stating that cooperation with Korea is necessary for rebuilding the shipbuilding industry also contributed to the strong performance of shipbuilding-related sectors, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Mipo, and Samsung Heavy Industries.
Polysilicon, a basic material for solar energy, was excluded from the United States' reciprocal tariff items, leading to a surge in Hanwha Solutions, OCI Holdings, and SK eternix. LS ELECTRIC, which is establishing a production base in Texas to respond to the tariff, along with Gaon Cable and Doosan Enerbility, also saw gains in the power equipment sector.
On this day, buying pressure spread across various sectors irrespective of the securities market or KOSDAQ, following the campaign activities of Lee Jae-myung, a candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential primary. As the candidate promised to designate content such as dramas, games, and webtoons as national strategic businesses, news of his visit to a webtoon library in Daegu prompted shares of SHIFT UP, Pearl Abyss, as well as KidariStudio, YLAB, Topco Media, and D&C MEDIA related to webtoons to leap.
As the candidate proposed the establishment of a new export control tower for building K-defense and the regularization of the presidential meeting for promoting defense exports, shares of Hyundai Rotem, KAI, and Hanwha Aerospace also rose. The candidate noted that this is "a new growth engine to overcome the low-growth crisis of the economy and an important driving force for enhancing national wealth," consistently showing interest in the defense industry.
On this day, the KOSDAQ index also closed at 711.75, up 12.64 points (1.81%) compared to the previous trading day. The index started at 700.11, which was up 0.14% from the previous day, and its upward trend gradually strengthened. Foreign and institutional investors net purchased 94.7 billion won and 47.2 billion won, respectively, driving the index’s rise. Individual investors sold off 141.5 billion won.
Most of the top market capitalization stocks in the KOSDAQ market lit up in red. Stocks related to bio and medical devices such as Alteogen, HLB, HUGEL, CLASSYS, and LigaChem Biosciences saw an increase. On expectations of lifting the Korea-China ban, stocks in the entertainment sector such as SME and DearU, along with those in the cosmetics sector such as SILICON2 and Medytox, also rose. Following news that Furiosa AI, which rejected an acquisition by Meta, resumed its listing preparations, its partner company, known as 4BY4, hit the upper limit.
The political theme stocks linked to Lee Jae-myung, such as Sangji Construction, i-Scream edu related to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, and SIGONG TECH, also showed significant volatility on this day.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at DAISHIN SECURITIES, explained, "As President Trump mentioned that there has been 'great progress' in talks with the Japanese trade delegation and as positive messages emerged from both sides, expectations entered the domestic stock market, which is set for negotiations next week after Japan." On this day, the Nikkei 225 index and the TOPIX index, which reflects the first section of the Tokyo stock market focusing on large export stocks, rose by 1.35% and 1.29%, respectively.
On this day, the weekly closing rate of the won against the U.S. dollar in the Seoul foreign exchange market was recorded at 1418.9 won, down 7.8 won from the previous day. This is the lowest level since Dec. 5 of last year (1415.10), two days after the declaration of a state of emergency.