Seoul shares pare gains on foreign selling
Seoul, Aug 10
South Korean shares pared earlier gains late on Monday morning as foreign investors continued to sell big-cap tech shares despite bargain hunting by retail and institutional investors.
After opening 0.76 per cent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 25.15 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,283.92 as of as of 11.20 am, reports Yonhap news agency.
Foreign investors sold nearly 619.7 billion won (US$437.8 million), offsetting a combined 598.2 billion won worth of buying by retail and institutional investors.
The KOSPI ended lower for a second straight session Friday, weighed down by foreign selling.
On Friday (local time), Wall Street advanced, following U.S. job reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28 percent, while the S&P 500 added 0.62 percent to a fresh record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.3 percent.
Korean technology stocks remained the bulwark of the market.
After opening higher, market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched down 0.11 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix climbed 0.84 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,414.8 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 5.3 won from the previous session's close.
In Seoul, technology stocks led the gains, with individual and institutional investors snapping up shares on bargain hunting.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 2.49 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix climbed 3.94 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,412.1 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 2.6 won from the previous session's close.
Meanwhile, President Lee Jae Myung was set to preside over a meeting Monday to discuss ways to promptly implement a large-scale investment initiative for semiconductor manufacturing facilities and artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.
The meeting will discuss support for the prompt implementation of the investment plans, as well as ways to spread the benefits from the investments across all regions and throughout the industrial ecosystem, the presidential office said.
Officials plan to explain the progress made so far on the investment plans and unveil measures to secure the electricity and water supplies needed to build a semiconductor production cluster, the presidential office said.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The KOSPI at 6,283? That seems extremely high. Did I miss something or is this a typo? Even with tech rallies, the Korean index was around 2,500-3,000 just a couple years back. Anyway, good to see retail investors stepping in when foreigners exit—reminds me of how Indian retail investors have become more confident in recent years. 📈
Classic FII selling pressure versus domestic buying pattern. We see this all the time in India too. The semiconductor and AI investment push is interesting though—Korea is really going all-in on tech infrastructure. India should take notes on how they're systematically planning electricity and water for industrial clusters. That's the kind of long-term vision we need. 💡
The won depreciation to 1,414 against the dollar is a bit concerning. It makes Korean exports cheaper but raises import costs. Watching from a global markets perspective, Korea's tech sector remains a key indicator for semiconductor demand worldwide. The government's proactive role in supporting the industry is something many countries are now emulating.
I wish Indian media covered Asian markets with this much detail. We're always obsessed with US markets but our Asian neighbours like Korea and Japan are equally relevant. The retail versus institutional battle here mirrors what we see in our own markets. Samsung being a bellwether is like Reliance for us—everyone watches it to gauge market sentiment. 🇮🇳🇰🇷
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