Headlines said a 3% plunge, the board says green — I rubbed my eyes
Right now KOSPI sits at 5,668.05 (+2.05%) and KOSDAQ at 794.78 (+4.46%). Against the last brief (15:10), the picture has moved by -1.28%p for KOSPI and -0.98%p for KOSDAQ. But what made me rub my eyes is something else.
Headlines said plunge, the board says rebound
Right after the open, the flash headlines said KOSPI started 3.17% lower at 5,488.41 and KOSDAQ 2.73% lower in the 773s. They pointed to last week, when Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix had their worst weekly drop since the 2008 financial crisis, plus weak US chip stocks. The board is now above that opening print, and I'm not sure both numbers share the same base. So I won't force a story. I'll just lay the two side by side.
| Market | Foreign | Institutions |
|---|---|---|
| KOSPI | 141.7억 won net buy (1,417억) | 209.2억 won net buy (2,092억) |
| KOSDAQ | 47.4억 won net buy (474억) | 9.9억 won net buy (99억) |
On flows, KOSPI institutions at 2,092억 won are propping the market harder than foreigners at 1,417억. Versus the last brief, KOSPI foreign net selling widened by 61억, while KOSDAQ foreign net buying widened by 1,457억. KOSDAQ's +4.46% reads in the same direction as that foreign shift.
Last US session (10/16 close) was S&P500 -1.09% and Nasdaq -2.15%, with AI and chips weak. The open followed that script, but the current numbers cut against it. A headline about surging French bond yields is also out there, though I can't say yet how it touches the index. My own book, for the record, shows Microsoft +33.9% and Amazon.com Inc. -12.7%, P&L only.
There are 6 hours 20 minutes to the close. I'm watching whether foreigners keep KOSPI in net-buy territory, whether KOSDAQ's foreign buying holds, and whether chips get pushed back below the opening print.