Kospi Battles 6,900 as Foreign, Institutional Selling Offsets Record U.S. Rally Ahead of Samsung Earnings
Summary
- The Kospi and Kosdaq remained weak near the 6,900 mark and 910 level amid continued net selling by foreign investors and institutions.
- Ahead of Samsung Electronics' preliminary third-quarter earnings due on October 8, a wait-and-see mood was limiting the market's upside and could push trading toward sector rotation.
- U.S. stocks climbed, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hitting record highs, while semiconductor and AI shares gained after Goldman Sachs projected 27% EPS growth.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
The Kospi remained weak around the 6,900 mark on October 7, pressured by combined foreign and institutional selling despite record closes on Wall Street.
According to the Korea Exchange, the benchmark Kospi was down 41.62 points, or 0.60%, at 6,899.77 as of 10:40 a.m. It opened 77.14 points, or 1.11%, lower at 6,864.25 before paring some of the decline.
Retail investors were buying into the weakness. On the main board, individuals were net buyers of 484 billion won, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 346.7 billion won and 128.3 billion won, respectively.
Investor caution ahead of Samsung Electronics' preliminary third-quarter earnings report due on October 8 was limiting upside. Samsung Electronics rose 0.55% to 273,500 won, while SK Hynix fell 1.80% to 1.741 million won. Jusung Engineering declined 1.26%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 0.42%, LG Electronics lost 0.65% and Samchundang Pharm slipped 0.83%. By contrast, LS ELECTRIC gained 2.30%, Korea Optical Communication advanced 4.75% and Taihan Electric Wire rose 0.47%.
U.S. stocks rose across the board overnight on expectations for third-quarter earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.49%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.58% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.45%, with both benchmarks closing at record highs.
Goldman Sachs projected that third-quarter earnings per share for S&P 500 companies would increase 27% from a year earlier, boosting expectations for stronger results from artificial intelligence-related companies. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note fell 0.03 percentage point to 5.281%. Marvell Technology climbed 5.8%, Broadcom gained 3.7% and AMD rose 2.8%, extending strength in semiconductor and AI shares.
The Kosdaq also moved lower. As of 10:40 a.m., the index had fallen 8.66 points, or 0.94%, to 911.26. It opened at 917.45 and widened its decline. Individuals were net buyers of 86.7 billion won, while foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 69.5 billion won and 13.8 billion won, respectively.
Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said the market's upside would likely remain capped as caution ahead of Samsung Electronics' preliminary earnings overlaps with concerns over a market holiday later this week. Trading may shift toward sector rotation, he added.
Samsung Electronics is scheduled to announce its preliminary third-quarter results on October 8.
