On the morning of the 20th, the KOSPI index is giving back early gains due to a shift to net selling by foreign investors.
As of 11:06 a.m. on this day, the KOSPI index is trading at 2607.34, up 3.92 points (0.15%) from the previous day. In the securities market, foreign investors and institutions are selling 10.9 billion won and 1.4 billion won, respectively. Individuals are net buying at a scale of 13.3 billion won.
The top market capitalization stocks are showing mixed trends.
The day before, Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of NVIDIA, emphasized the expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, raising expectations in the semiconductor industry, with SK hynix and Samsung Electronics stocks increasing by 2.68% and 0.45%, respectively. SK hynix had fallen over 3% on the previous trading day, staying in the 190,000 won range, but has recovered to above 200,000 won today.
In contrast, stocks related to secondary batteries are declining sharply. The three major domestic secondary battery companies known as LG Energy Solution (-4.46%), Samsung SDI (-4.66%), and SK Innovation (-4.22%) are all seeing declines of more than 4%. SK Innovation also recorded its lowest price in a year.
Along with the industry recession, there are concerns that the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credit in the United States may be reduced, leading to deteriorating buying sentiment. Earlier, Punchbowl News reported on the 19th that House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested the early repeal of IRA clean energy tax credits to hardliners, and that Republican leadership provisionally agreed to phase out all tax credits by 2028.
At the same time, the KOSDAQ index is trading at 718.16, up 4.41 points (0.62%) from the previous day. In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors and institutions are buying 45.5 billion won and 21.1 billion won, respectively, propping up the stock market. Individuals are selling alone for a scale of 34.6 billion won.
The top market capitalization stocks in the KOSDAQ are also showing mixed trends.
LigaChem Biosciences is rising 6.4%, showing strength. Previously, news was reported that LigaChem Biosciences signed a consignment agreement related to antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platforms with its subsidiary Hanmi Precision Chemical, which specializes in active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), raising expectations for entry into the ADC market. Moreover, Peptron, PharmaResearch, and HUGEL are also performing well.
In contrast, the news of the repeal of the IRA tax credit has caused a steep drop in KOSDAQ representative secondary battery stocks Ecopro and ECOPRO BM, which are down 5.44% and 5.33%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Sangji Construction, which has been experiencing volatile fluctuations as a political theme stock, is currently down over 23%. It appears that selling pressure has emerged as rights to sell newly issued shares from a capital increase and convertible bonds (CB) are available after two trading days. The selling sentiment has also been intensified due to allegations of large-scale proxy investments.
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar (won/USD) exchange rate is trading at 1392.80 won, up 2.7 won from the previous trading day at the same time.