Mid-morning: nobody was catching the KOSDAQ

Right now the KOSPI sits at 5,490.44, down 1.08%, and the KOSDAQ at 732.34, down 2.57%. Against the 09:10 brief, the KOSPI has slipped another 1.38%p and the KOSDAQ 0.95%p. The market that was holding up in the morning has been running out of breath, and that's the spine of today's story.

Nobody was catching the KOSDAQ

This is where I think the gap in damage comes from. On the KOSPI, foreigners dumped 2,704억 but institutions took in 2,297억. On the KOSDAQ, institutions sold 356억 right alongside foreigners' 562억, so there was no hand underneath. Foreign net selling since the last brief widened by 2,971억 on the KOSPI and 478억 on the KOSDAQ, the same story continuing.

Last US session (10/23 close) ended soft: S&P 500 -0.52%, Nasdaq -0.21%, with cybersecurity and cloud strong and copper/minerals and gold miners weak. Today's tape looks like it inherited that mood from a session already in the books. Still, the won at 1,325.99 per dollar (+0.03%) and the dollar index at 101.68 (-0.13%) are calm, so currency isn't what pushed us down. I also noted Goldman saying the yen looks more attractive as a haven against an AI shock (USD/JPY 157.08~157.10). My disclosed holdings stay underwater on paper: Kia -6.9%, HD Hyundai Heavy -11.1%, Shinhan Financial -6.7%, Poongsan -20.5%.

4 hours 50 minutes to the close, and what I'm watching

First I'll watch whether foreign selling keeps swelling and whether KOSDAQ institutions finally stop selling. I'll also see if the 2,297억 of institutional buying on the KOSPI keeps holding. While checking that the won stays quiet around 1,325.99, I'll try to sort out whether today's drop is about flows or something bigger.