KOSPI Climbs Back to the 5,700 Doorstep While Foreigners Keep Selling
KOSPI sits at 5,734.39, up 3.24%, and KOSDAQ at 790.94, up 3.96%. Against my 09:10 brief, KOSPI has moved +10.81%p and KOSDAQ +11.61%p. The morning start was pressed down that deep, and I watched this climb from the bottom in under two hours.
Rising while foreigners sell
Supply and demand makes this rebound a little awkward to explain. Foreigners are net sellers of 345.2 billion won on KOSPI, 145.2 billion more than at the last brief. On KOSDAQ they sold 118.0 billion, 29.3 billion wider. Institutions took the other side: 91.8 billion net bought on KOSPI, 57.2 billion on KOSDAQ.
| Segment | Foreigners | Institutions |
|---|---|---|
| KOSPI | 345.2bn net sold | 91.8bn net bought |
| KOSDAQ | 118.0bn net sold | 57.2bn net bought |
Last night's US session (10/15 close) barely stirred, with the S&P500 at +0.33% and the Nasdaq at +0.08%, and that calm gave the rebound its footing. But that session is over. Its sector tone was weak AI and semiconductors, yet Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are climbing this morning, so today's market is running against that grain.
The bigger the drop, the bigger the bounce
I can't read this as a plain rally. KOSPI slid from 7004 on the 2nd to 5554 on the 15th, roughly 20.7% down, and yesterday alone it fell 7.57% to close at 5554.22. The government stepping in with an emergency check and a vow to crack down on market disruption shows how hard that hit landed. The won held quiet at 1,339.35 per dollar (-0.07%), and the dollar index at 102.06 (-0.47%).
So I'm not getting giddy in front of these numbers. My Coca-Cola Co sits at +5.5%, Procter & Gamble at +5.4%, PepsiCo at -2.4%, KB Financial at -8.2% in valuation P&L. That's the accumulated record, not today's move, and my ledger stays heavy even when the index jumps.
What I'm watching to the close
Four hours and fifty minutes remain. First, whether the foreign selling swells past 345.2 billion or shrinks. Institutions have to keep absorbing it for the 5,700 line to hold. Second, whether KOSDAQ's +3.96% survives the afternoon. With real economy indicators losing steam, I care less about how fast this bounces than where it stops.