South Korean stocks held firm Monday as anticipation of Tuesday’s presidential election helped extend recent gains, with the benchmark Kospi reclaiming the 2,700 level during intraday trading on the final session before a new administration takes office.
The Kospi opened strong at 2,709.92, nearly 10 points above Friday’s close, and climbed to an early high of 2,719.87 within the first 20 minutes. The index remained above 2,700 through the morning before paring gains to end slightly higher at 2,698.97.
While slightly weaker than last week’s momentum, Monday’s performance marked a continuation of the recent rally. The Kospi had broken above 2,700 last Wednesday for the first time in nine months, after months of trading between 2,400 and the mid-2,600s and stalling near 2,600 in May.
Institutional investors weighed on the market, emerging as net sellers of roughly 241.5 billion won ($175.8 million). Foreign investors flipped the Kospi into positive territory late in the session, ramping up purchases to end as the day’s biggest buyers with a net 125.1 billion won. Retail investors also helped support the index, adding 99 billion won in net purchases.
The secondary Kosdaq showed a contrasting trend, climbing around 0.8 percent to close at 740.29. Unlike the Kospi, retail investors turned net sellers, offloading roughly 120 billion won, while foreign and institutional investors stepped in as net buyers, purchasing 111.7 billion won and 14.3 billion won, respectively.
“With the Kospi awaiting the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential election, the market is heading into the holiday without a clear directional catalyst,” said Lee Jae-won, analyst at Shinhan Securities.
Sector performance was mixed, with no clear trend across industries. Chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix posted modest gains, while Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Aerospace also stood out among heavyweight advancers. In contrast, financial stocks, which had rallied last week, surrendered part of their recent gains.
Meanwhile, the Korean won weakened about 0.7 percent to trade near 1,374 won per US dollar as of 4 p.m. Monday.
jwc@heraldcorp.com
