The KOSPI and KOSDAQ triggered sell sidecars for a second consecutive trading session as both indexes plunged.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), the KOSPI stood at 5,747.15 as of 11:02 a.m. on the 29th, down 276.51 points, or 4.59 percent, from the previous session. The index opened at 6,089.11, up 65.45 points, or 1.09 percent, but soon reversed and widened its losses, triggering a sell sidecar at around 10:55 a.m.
Selling by individual investors appears to be dragging the index down. On the main bourse, individuals were net sellers of 1.4087 trillion won. Foreign and institutional investors were net buyers of 224.4 billion won and 1.1815 trillion won, respectively.
Most top market-capitalization stocks were in the red. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS), which both opened higher in the regular session, were down 3.14 percent and 8.13 percent, respectively. Samsung Electronics preferred shares (3.16 percent), SK Square (9.08 percent), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (7.09 percent), Hyundai Motor (0.69 percent) and LG Energy Solution (3.66 percent) — among the top 15 by market cap — all declined. In contrast, Celltrion and Hyundai Mobis were up 2.82 percent and 0.45 percent, respectively.
The KOSDAQ, which like the KOSPI triggered a sell sidecar for a second straight session, stood at 669.20 at the same time, down 36.65 points, or 5.19 percent. The index opened at 713.71, up 7.86 points, or 1.11 percent, before reversing and widening its losses.
On the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors were net buyers of 121.5 billion won, but that was not enough to stem the index's decline. Individuals and institutions were net sellers of 84.3 billion won and 41.9 billion won, respectively.
Among the top market-cap stocks, most declined, with the exception of PharmaResearch (3.99 percent). Alteogen was trading at 282,000 won, down 4.89 percent, while EcoPro BM was trading at 94,500 won, down 7.17 percent. EcoPro fell 6.60 percent and Rainbow Robotics fell 2.12 percent.
Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said, "The KOSPI recently fell to around 33 percent below its peak, and leading stocks such as semiconductors dropped by around 40 percent from their highs, intensifying the sense of fear and creating a vicious cycle that stimulates further panic selling." She added, "In the short term, whether the KOSPI holds its 200-day line in the 5,600 range is the key. Given the cooling of investor sentiment, the possibility of touching that support line must be left open, but the focus should be on the fact that the domestic stock market has entered a historic oversold phase."
