Foreigners sold more, the index still climbed, and institutions caught it at 1:40 PM
Right now the KOSPI sits at 5,693.54, up 0.45%, and the KOSDAQ at 798.31, up 0.44%. Against the 12:10 brief, the KOSPI is up another 0.34 percentage points and the KOSDAQ another 0.68, so the KOSDAQ is the one that found extra legs after lunch. I'm parked in the same seat as this morning, watching the picture change.
The odd afternoon where selling didn't sink anything
| Segment | Foreigners | Institutions |
|---|---|---|
| KOSPI | 1,490억 won net sold | 4,831억 won net bought |
| KOSDAQ | 1,124억 won net sold | 104억 won net bought |
Since the last brief, foreigners added 173억 won of net selling on the KOSPI and 112억 won on the KOSDAQ. The KOSPI didn't buckle because institutions soaked up 4,831억 won. The KOSDAQ has a thinner cushion, with institutions at only 104억 won, yet it rose by more, so the flow table alone doesn't explain it. I decided not to pretend I can fill in that blank.
Today also didn't inherit the mood from Wall Street. The last US session (10/16 close) was S&P 500 -1.09% and Nasdaq -2.15%, with AI and semiconductors weak, but Seoul isn't copying that weakness and is drifting higher instead. On the news side, NH-Amundi's Park Jin-ho called the KOSPI's 5000s a floor, and at the parliamentary audit FSS chief Lee Chan-jin said he'd speed up the review of single-stock leveraged ETFs to match their listing schedule. It colors the mood, but I don't see it changing the flows.
There are 1 hour 50 minutes to the close. I'll be watching how far foreign net selling swells past 1,490억 won, and whether institutions' 4,831억 won holds to the end. I'm also keeping a side eye on the won at 1,340.95 per dollar (+0.12%) and the dollar index at 101.84 (-0.16%) pulling in different directions. For the record, my disclosed holdings stand at Microsoft +33.9% and Amazon.com Inc. -12.7%, which is a running scorecard, not today's move.