The 6000 line slips, and the Kosdaq buckled first
The Kospi is at 6,032.82, down 0.04%, and the Kosdaq is at 826.55, down 1.25%. Against the 13:40 brief, the Kospi has slipped another 1.16 points and the Kosdaq another 0.95. The market didn't just catch its breath after lunch. It ran out of steam through the afternoon.
The index held, but foreigners emptied the room
On the Kospi, foreigners dumped KRW 4,578.9 billion in net selling, and institutions absorbed KRW 1,668.5 billion on the buy side. That's the only reason the index is hovering near flat. The Kosdaq is stranger: foreigners put in KRW 133.9 billion and institutions KRW 45.9 billion, both net buying, yet it's still down 1.25%. Flows alone don't explain it. Small caps simply went cold.
Around 15:00 a run of flash headlines said the Kospi had flipped negative and surrendered the 6000 line. In the same window came Morgan Stanley's call for a BOK hold in October followed by a hike in November, and the governor's pledge to act aggressively if prices don't settle. My read: rate worries crept back into the room this afternoon. The won at 1,334.13 per dollar (-0.50%) and the dollar index at 102.18 (-0.39%) at least gave some relief.
| Index | Now | Change | vs. previous brief |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kospi | 6,032.82 | -0.04% | -1.16%p |
| Kosdaq | 826.55 | -1.25% | -0.95%p |
Last night's US session (10/13 close) ended quietly, S&P500 -0.02% and Nasdaq -0.15%. A session that was already over didn't shake anything, yet Korea shook itself. So this isn't a hand-me-down from Wall Street; it's a local reaction to rate anxiety.
My public holdings carry these unrealized P&L marks: HD Korea Shipbuilding +0.4%, Poongsan -11.6%, KT&G +4.3%, Orion -13.3%. Those are cumulative figures, not today's moves.
With 20 minutes to the close, I'm watching two things: whether the Kospi can finish above 6000, and whether institutions' KRW 1,668.5 billion of buying can keep absorbing the foreign selling to the bell.