On the 26th in the afternoon at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. /Courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

The domestic stock market, which has risen sharply, has entered a period of consolidation, influenced by foreign institutional investors known as 'big hands' taking profit. The KOSPI index and the KOSDAQ index fell below 3100 and 800, respectively. Individual investors injected nearly 800 billion won into the stock market, but could not overcome the selling pressure from foreign and institutional investors.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 26th, the KOSPI index recorded 3079.56, down 28.69 points (0.92%) compared to the previous trading day. The index started at 3108.34, up 0.09 points (0.0%) from the previous day, but turned to a downtrend early in the session and widened its losses.

In the stock market, foreign and institutional investors showed a selling dominance of 579.4 billion won and 263.8 billion won, respectively, pulling down the index. Foreigners also sold 382.1 billion won worth in the KOSPI 200 futures market. Individual investors made a net purchase of 833.5 billion won.

Lee Jae-won, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp, noted, "The margin balance in the stock market is at a record high of 12.2 trillion won, and customer deposits total 66.4 trillion won, the highest level since 2023. The KOSPI index has boasted overwhelming returns globally and surged sharply in the short term, but it is in a technically overbought zone, so there is always potential for profit-taking."

Information technology (IT) and software sectors, including NAVER, Kakao, and LG CNS, which surged on policy expectations, showed weakness. KakaoBank, Douzone, and Shinsegae I&C, linked to Korean won stable coin-related stocks, also plummeted.

SK hynix, a key stock in high bandwidth memory (HBM), continued its price rally due to Micron's strong performance and NVIDIA's historic highs. HANMI Semiconductor, ISU PETASYS, and Hanwha Vision also closed stronger overall. In contrast, Samsung Electronics fell by 1.79%.

Stocks in the securities sector, including Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment Holdings, Samsung Securities, and NH Investment & Securities, fell amid expectations for value-up. Conversely, domestic stocks such as Kolon Industries, Aekyung Chemical, and ISU Specialty Chemical in the all-solid-state battery theme rose sharply as the U.S. solid-state company QuantumScape surged the previous day.

Industry sources estimate that beginning tomorrow (the 27th), buying on a settlement date basis will result in second-half inclusion, leading to sales that confirm first-half revenues. This is largely because sectors such as securities, construction, and IT had seen significant surges recently. This researcher stated, "The approaching tariff negotiation period is also a cautionary factor," adding that, "The earnings season will begin after confirming the easing of tariff concerns."

The KOSDAQ index closed at 787.95, down 10.26 points (1.29%) compared to the previous trading day. The index started at 799.21, up 1.0 points (0.13%) from the previous day, but quickly reversed to a decline and increased its losses. Foreign and institutional investors sold a net 167.6 billion won and 56.1 billion won, respectively, while individual investors made a net purchase of 236.6 billion won.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, most, including Alteogen, Ecopro, HLB, and Rainbow Robotics, declined. Similar to the stock market, the KOSDAQ market saw steep drops in stable coin thematic stocks such as Hecto Financial and ME2ON.

On this day, the weekly closing price of the Korean won against the U.S. dollar in the Seoul foreign exchange market (as of 3:30 p.m.) recorded 1356.9 won, down by 5.5 won from the previous day. The dollar index, which reflects the value of the dollar against six major currencies, decreased by 0.25% to 97.440.

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