On the 2nd, the KOSPI index closed with a slight gain. The domestic political uncertainty intensified, coupled with poor performances from Apple and Amazon, causing weakness early in the session; however, it reversed to rise during trading on hopes for U.S.-China trade negotiations. The KOSPI briefly exceeded the 2,670 level in the afternoon.
According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI index closed at 2,559.79, up 3.18 points (0.12%) from the previous trading day. The index started at 2,556.52, down 0.09 points (0.00%) from the previous session, widening the decline but switched to an upward trend in the afternoon. During trading, it even rose to 2,567.04.
The institutions led by ‘buying’ drove the index up. Securities firms, among others, purchased a net 293.2 billion won worth of large-cap stocks on the KOSPI. Despite individuals and foreigners selling a net 214.1 billion won and 160.9 billion won, respectively, the index closed higher.
The possibility of trade negotiations between the United States and China improved overall investor sentiment in the domestic stock market. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said on the day, "The U.S. side has actively sent messages several times through relevant departments, hoping to communicate with China," which was favorable news.
Lee Kyung-min, a researcher at DAISHIN SECURITIES, noted, "The KOSPI, as well as major U.S. index futures that were weak due to poor service revenues from Apple and Amazon, all switched to an upward trend thanks to the potential for trade talks between the U.S. and China," adding that "Asian stock markets also uniformly switched to rises."
By stock, SK hynix rose 4.79%, leading the index rise. This was due to strong performances from major tech companies like Microsoft and Meta, fueling expectations for continued investments in artificial intelligence. ISU PETASYS's stock price also surged over 15%. However, Samsung Electronics closed down.
During the previous night, the three major indices on the U.S. New York stock market all closed higher. The strong performances from Microsoft and Meta led to an overall rise in big tech stocks. Particularly, the Nasdaq Composite Index at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ended trading at 17,710.74, up 264.40 points (1.52%).
The power equipment sector also closed higher, boosted by expectations of AI facility investments and last month’s export of large transformers exceeding 1 trillion won. HD Hyundai Electric's stock price rose over 5%, while other stocks in the power equipment sector, such as Hyosung Heavy Industries and LS ELECTRIC, showed strong gains.
SK Telecom experienced weakness following the incident of SIM card hacking, leading to the suspension of new subscriber recruitment. However, KT and LG Uplus closed higher on anticipated benefits. The stock prices of budget mobile operators LG HelloVision and SEJONG Telecom also surged over 5%.
Domestic gaming company Wemade's stock price plummeted 17.45%. The negative news stemmed from the virtual currency WEMIX issued by Wemade being the second to have its trading support suspended on domestic exchanges.
On the day, the KOSPI transaction volume remained at 82.529 billion won due to a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the holiday. This was lower than the transaction volume of 84.356 billion won on the 30th, when the KOSPI closed slightly down. The domestic stock market will close for Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday on the 5th and a substitute holiday on the 6th.
The KOSDAQ index also closed higher, finishing at 721.86, up 4.62 points (0.64%) from the previous trading day. It started at 716.60, down 0.64 points (0.09%), but foreign investors led the index's rise with a net purchase of 94 billion won. Institutions also net bought 67.6 billion won.
By stock, pharmaceutical and biotech stocks in the KOSDAQ market's top market capitalization showed strong gains. This was because last month's drug exports reached 1.4 billion dollars, marking the highest record for April, leading to increased performance expectations. PharmaResearch and Ligand Pharmaceuticals saw stock prices rise by over 3%.
Most of the top market capitalization stocks, including Alteogen, Ecopro BM, HLB, Rainbow Robotics, Hugel, CLASSYS, and Peptron, rose. Among the 10 largest stocks in the KOSDAQ market, only one stock, Ecopro, declined on that day.
Political theme stocks fluctuated. Political theme stocks linked to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, plummeted as the market opened on the 2nd, while those related to former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, surged to the upper limit.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's guilty decision on the election law violation case against Lee revived judicial risks, leading to a sharp drop in Lee Jae-myung theme stocks. Former Prime Minister Han declared his candidacy for the presidential election that day. Stocks related to him, such as ILJEONG INDUSTRIAL and i-Scream edu, surged to their upper limits.
On the same day, the exchange rate for the won against the dollar in the Seoul foreign exchange market closed at 1,405.3 won, down 15.7 won from the previous day's weekly closing price of 1,421 won.