Kospi claws back losses this afternoon, but foreigners keep selling

Right now Kospi sits at 6,659.85, down 0.55%, while Kosdaq is at 817.45, up 0.51% — the two indices splitting apart today. Compared to my last check-in at 12:10, Kospi has clawed back 1.85 points and Kosdaq gained another 2.35 points of upside, a noticeably better picture than this morning. Word is individuals stepped in with 1.1 trillion won in buying to absorb 2.9 trillion won of foreign selling, and that's basically the story behind Kospi's shrinking losses right now. Overnight (8/24) weakness in US chip stocks seems to have dragged on large-cap semis here today, though FST bucked the trend, jumping about 19% on news of expanded CNT pellicle equipment for Samsung's 2nm line — proof this is very much a stock-picker's market. I'm just sitting with my positions underwater — Isu Petasys -8.9%, HD Hyundai Electric -8.7%, Orion -3.7%, Leeno Industrial -6.7% — and what I'm actually watching into the close is whether individual buying keeps absorbing foreign selling or runs out of steam.