KOSPI holds above 7,000 while KOSDAQ steps back a little

Right now KOSPI sits at 7,024.27, up 1.89%, and KOSDAQ at 835.14, up 0.97%. Compared with my 12:10 note, KOSPI has climbed another 0.28 percentage points and planted itself above 7,000, while KOSDAQ slipped 0.05 points, so the gap in mood between the two boards has widened a bit. Last Friday's U.S. session (9/18 close) ended quietly, with the Nasdaq up 0.39% and the S&P 500 up 0.17%. KOSPI has picked up that calm tone, but today's climb is far bigger than anything Wall Street handed us.

The difference comes down to who is buying. On KOSPI, institutions are net buyers of 15,322 hundred-million won and foreigners of 4,486 hundred-million won, holding the index up. On KOSDAQ, foreigners have sold 478 hundred-million won while institutions bought only 226, which is not much of a cushion. In the news, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are strong and pushed KOSPI through 7,000 intraday. Those two make up around 30% of KOSPI's market cap, so when they move, the whole index follows.

With one hour and fifty minutes to the close, I'm watching two things: whether KOSPI stays above 7,000 with institutional buying lasting to the bell, and whether foreign selling on KOSDAQ eases. There's also talk that the Samsung and SK Hynix buybacks could end early after the Chuseok holiday. That's not today's story, but I'll be curious whether it casts a small shadow over the late session.