Kospi Slipping, Kosdaq Surging, 20 Minutes to the Bell — I Fold My Arms
Right now the Kospi sits at 6,930.20, down 1.05%, while the Kosdaq is at 917.76, up 2.74%. Compared with the 13:40 brief, the Kospi has only gained 0.07 percentage points and the Kosdaq 0.16. With 20 minutes to the close, the gap between the two markets has barely budged all afternoon.
Foreigners sold the Kospi, institutions caught it
Flows tell it most clearly. In the Kospi, foreigners net sold 108.0 billion won and institutions net bought 415.5 billion. In the Kosdaq, foreigners net sold 176.7 billion while institutions bought 93.6 billion. Foreigners are selling on both boards, but I read the institutional bid as what lifted the Kosdaq. The won at 1,342.56 per dollar (-1.33%) eased the currency pressure, and the dollar index was 102.17 (+0.24%).
| Item | Kospi | Kosdaq |
|---|---|---|
| Index | 6,930.20 (-1.05%) | 917.76 (+2.74%) |
| Foreigners | 108.0B won net sold | 176.7B won net sold |
| Institutions | 415.5B won net bought | 93.6B won net bought |
Last night's US session (10/5 close) was S&P500 +0.66% and Nasdaq +1.05%, with cybersecurity and quantum computing leading. That is a finished, settled number, and today's Kosdaq rally looks like it inherited that growth-stock warmth. The Kospi, meanwhile, went against the grain. In the news, the pieces warning about exchange rate, oil and interest rates all moving at once caught my eye, and they hint at where the Kospi's unease comes from.
My book stays quiet
My disclosed holdings stand at Microsoft +32.9%, NVIDIA Corporation +12.0%, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. +8.3% and Amazon.com Inc. -12.2%. Those are accumulated gains and losses, not today's moves. For now I just jot the numbers down and watch with my arms folded.
Two things to watch into the close. First, whether the foreign net selling of 108.0 billion won in the Kospi keeps growing, and whether the institutional buying of 415.5 billion holds to the end. Second, whether the Kosdaq's +2.74% survives the closing auction or catches its breath. With the real economy losing steam, I doubt it tips hard either way, but the last 20 minutes always like to change their expression.