Despite Foreign Investors' 5 Trillion Won Sell-Off, KOSPI Closes at All-Time High

Supported by Individual and Institutional Investors, KOSPI Closes Higher
Hyundai Mobis Soars 15%; Hyundai Motor and Kia Also Strong

The KOSPI Index successfully reversed to an upward trend on May 8, closing at a new all-time high based on the closing price.

On the 8th, as the KOSPI index switched to a late-session gain and closed just below the 7,500 mark, setting another all-time high, a dealer was working in the dealing room at the Seoul Hana Bank headquarters. Photo by Yonhap News

On this day, the KOSPI Index finished at 7,498.00, up 7.95 points (0.11%) from the previous trading day. In early trading, the index showed a decline of over 2% due to foreign investors taking profits. The total amount sold by foreign investors alone reached 5.5488 trillion won. However, institutional investors made a net purchase of 1.5385 trillion won and individual investors net bought 3.9301 trillion won, narrowing the decline and ultimately driving the index to close higher.

By sector, IT services (4.34%), food, beverage & tobacco (2.69%), transportation & storage (2.37%), retail (2.21%), transportation equipment & parts (1.81%), and real estate (1.81%) posted gains. In contrast, machinery & equipment (-3.46%), general services (-3.00%), construction (-2.15%), medical precision instruments (-1.90%), securities (-1.35%), and electric & gas utilities (-1.24%) ended the session lower.

Among the top market capitalization stocks, Hyundai Mobis (15.29%), Hyundai Motor (7.17%), and Kia (4.38%) all surged sharply. Jinhyuk Kang, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., explained, “The humanoid competition among global big tech companies has entered full swing, and expectations for a Boston Dynamics IPO have supported the Hyundai Motor Group index.” Samsung C&T (4.32%) and SK hynix (1.93%) also gained.

On the other hand, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (-5.05%), Doosan Enerbility (-4.99%), Samsung SDI (-2.31%), LS ELECTRIC (-1.73%), Samsung Life Insurance (-1.67%), Samsung Electronics (preferred shares) (-1.46%), LG Energy Solution (-1.35%), HD Hyundai Electric (-1.20%), and Samsung Electronics (-1.10%) declined.

The KOSDAQ Index closed at 1,207.72, up 8.54 points (0.71%) from the previous trading day. Foreign investors net bought 399.6 billion won, while institutions net bought 80.6 billion won. Individual investors net sold 473.9 billion won.

Among top market cap stocks on KOSDAQ, Rainbow Robotics (12.48%), Kolon TissueGene (11.52%), Robotis (10.76%), and Padu (10.26%) surged. EO Technics (3.24%), ABL Bio (2.93%), Jusung Engineering (2.81%), ISC (2.63%), LegoChem Biosciences (2.41%), and Samchundang Pharm (1.13%) also gained. In contrast, Alteogen (-4.49%), Voronoi (-3.56%), Ecopro (-2.94%), HLB (-2.18%), and HPSP (-1.46%) ended weaker.

Jeongeun Lim, a researcher at KB Securities, explained, “Expectations for an end to hostilities between the United States and Iran have diminished, and with ongoing profit-taking, foreign investors have recorded a massive net sell-off totaling around 12 trillion won over the past two days.”

She added, “For the time being, several events are lined up, including U.S. April non-farm payrolls, consumer and producer price indices, and individual company earnings announcements. While the semiconductor sector continues to display solid momentum, some capital rotation toward previously neglected sectors is anticipated due to selling pressure following the recent sharp rally in KOSPI.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.