The Kospi recovered the 8,100 level on the back of foreign buying. Foreigners ended a 24-session selling streak and turned net buyers for the first time in 25 sessions, driving the index rebound.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 12th, the Kospi closed at 8,123.62, up 359.67 points (4.63%) from the previous session. The Kosdaq index also ended at 1,029.05, up 32.12 points (3.22%).
The Kospi opened at 8,263.85, up 499.90 points (6.44%) from the prior session, instantly recovering the 8,200 level. The Kosdaq also began trading at 1,027.05, up 30.12 points (3.02%). As buying flooded in right after the open, a buy-side sidecar was triggered at 9:06:02 a.m. when the Kospi 200 futures price held more than 5% above the previous close for over a minute.
Afterward, profit-taking emerged during the session and the gains narrowed somewhat, but the Kospi finished above the 8,100 level and the Kosdaq above 1,000. On the supply-demand front, the return of foreign investors stood out. Foreigners net bought 2.1181 trillion won in the Kospi market, and institutions also posted a buying advantage of 2.4013 trillion won, leading the index gains. In contrast, individuals net sold 4.3366 trillion won, taking profits.
In particular, it was the first time in 25 sessions, since the 7th of last month, that foreigners turned net buyers in the Kospi market. Through the previous day, foreigners had net sold for 24 straight sessions, unloading 75.569 trillion won in the Kospi market alone. Including transactions on the alternative trading platform Nextrade, cumulative net selling reached 84.629 trillion won. The 24 consecutive sessions of net selling marked the fourth-longest such streak on record.
Among top market-cap stocks, semiconductors and SK Group shares led the strength. Samsung Electronics closed at 322,500 won, up 23,500 won (7.86%) from the previous session, while SK Hynix pared its gains amid profit-taking but ended up 2.33%. SK Square surged 10.59%, and Samsung Life Insurance (5.62%), Samsung C&T (5.37%), and LG Energy Solution (4.03%) also posted strong gains.
Behind the improvement in investor sentiment lay expectations of progress in negotiations between the United States and Iran. As U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned that a deal with Iran was imminent, expectations grew that geopolitical risks in the Middle East would ease, and international oil prices also showed stability. In addition, analysts said the U.S. May Producer Price Index (PPI) did not stir market concerns, reviving risk appetite.
Lim Jeong-eun, a researcher at KB Securities, forecast, "Investor sentiment has improved as the Kospi recovered the 8,000 level, but with the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and major countries' monetary policy events coming up next week, volatility could continue."
