Shares of Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS), Korea's leading chipmakers, fell together as major technology stocks weakened overnight on US markets.
According to the Korea Exchange, as of 9:34 a.m. on the 6th, Samsung Electronics was trading at 237,000 won, down 3.66% from the previous session, while SK hynix was at 1.549 million won, down 7.13%. The KOSPI opened down 119.51 points, or 1.81%, at 6,478.75. It rebounded to as high as the 6,540 level in early trading before turning lower, falling below its opening price.
Foreign investors, who had been net buyers during regular sessions, turned net sellers, increasing downward pressure across the market. Through the previous day, foreign investors had net bought 1.4513 trillion won worth of shares on the KOSPI market. On the 6th, however, they dumped more than 500 billion won in net selling on the KOSPI market. Individual investors, who had started as net sellers, absorbed that volume and turned net buyers.
The weakness in individual stocks and the index was driven by the sluggish performance of US markets overnight. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.83%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 1.40%. The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Korea exchange-traded fund (ETF), which reflects investor sentiment toward the Korean market, also fell 1.17%.
In particular, the earnings outlook released by US memory chipmaker SanDisk fell short of investor expectations. SanDisk's revenue and net profit for the April-June period both exceeded market consensus estimates, but its own guidance for the July-September period came in below consensus.
"Despite improvements in geopolitical and macro conditions, the market is likely to show a breather with a sector-rotation character, driven by weakness in the US Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and profit-taking following the recent short-term sharp rebound," said Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities. "The abnormal amplification of volatility we experienced during the July plunge appears to have passed its peak."
The KOSDAQ index was also moving in the 787 range, down 1.5%. Top market-cap stocks, including Alteogen, the KOSDAQ's largest by market capitalization, along with EcoPro, EcoPro BM and Rainbow Robotics, were down in the 1% range.
