KOSPI Jumps 2.67% as Foreign Buying Takes the Wheel

Right now the KOSPI is up 2.67% at 7,164.27, running hotter than it was this morning. Compared to my last brief, KOSPI added another 0.25 percentage points and KOSDAQ another 0.41, so the rally keeps building through the morning. Overnight (8/17 close) the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both slipped a touch, but Seoul is going the other way today — foreigners plowed in over 3 trillion won of net buying and hauled the index up with them. Institutions are selling on both boards, but with the won easing slightly to the 1,415 range and the whole market feeling calm under a friendly rate-and-credit backdrop, that selling doesn't seem to be biting much. My Microsoft position is still sitting on a +21.5% gain, and for the rest of the session I'm watching whether this foreign buying wave keeps its legs into the close.