Samsung Shakes KOSPI While KOSDAQ Bolts the Other Way

Right now KOSPI sits at 6,839.58, down 1.06%, while KOSDAQ is actually up 2.22% at 819.75. Compared to my last check-in, KOSPI's slide deepened by 1.94 points and KOSDAQ swung the other way by a full 6.85 points — the two markets have completely split apart today. Samsung Electronics tanked despite unveiling a record-breaking shareholder return plan, and that's what's dragging KOSPI down; foreigners sold ₩176.0B there while institutions bought ₩248.1B, but it wasn't enough to hold the line. KOSDAQ kept climbing on bargain-hunting even though both foreigners and institutions were net sellers there too (₩283.7B and ₩346.2B respectively), and the calm gains from Wall Street's last session (8/21) didn't really carry through to KOSPI today. In my own book, ConocoPhillips (+6.3%) and Schlumberger (+0.2%) are holding up while HD Hyundai Electric (-7.4%) and Orion (-4.5%) are dragging — I'll be watching through the close whether the Samsung shock spreads further or KOSDAQ's rebound buying keeps holding.