Past 6,800 but catching its breath — the buyback spark under today's KOSPI

With 20 minutes left in the session, the KOSPI sits at 6,825.22 (+5.47%) and the KOSDAQ at 840.16 (+1.90%). But stack that against my 1:40pm brief and the KOSPI's gain has shrunk by 1.12 points, KOSDAQ by 0.23 — the market's clearly catching its breath compared to earlier. The spark today doesn't look like it came from last night's mild Wall Street session (S&P +0.21%, Nasdaq +0.16%, 8/19 close) — it reads more like a domestic story. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which had plunged around 10% the prior session, dropped a 40-trillion-won buyback announcement after the close, and that seems to be what lit today's bounce. Still, foreigners and institutions are both selling in the trillions on the KOSPI, so the index is climbing while the money flow underneath isn't smiling — whether that selling pressure builds or fades into the close is what I'm watching.