Foreigners net sell more than 880 billion won; retail and institutional investors buy
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbles more than 5% overnight, weighing on sentiment
Nvidia, Micron fall; SK hynix drops while Samsung Electronics edges up
Slower US jobs data eases rate-hike fears but tech weakness persists
The Kospi tumbled to the 7,400 level during Friday's session as foreigners extended their net selling streak to 11 consecutive trading days and overnight losses in US semiconductor stocks continued to weigh on sentiment. Although a slowdown in US employment data eased concerns about further Federal Reserve rate hikes, weakness in technology stocks — including Nvidia and Micron — kept domestic markets under pressure.
Korea Exchange data showed the Kospi opened up 91.66 points, or 1.20 percent, at 7,739.75 before trimming gains and reversing course. As of 10 a.m., the index was down 3.09 percent at 7,411.57, having briefly dipped to the 7,300 level during trading. The previous session, the index had tumbled 7.89 percent to the 7,600 range on a sharp selloff in large-cap semiconductor stocks, and the decline continued Friday.
Foreigners were net selling 880.9 billion won ($567 million) on the Kospi, while retail and institutional investors were net buying 625.4 billion won and 211.7 billion won, respectively. Foreign investors have been net sellers for 11 consecutive trading days since June 19.
Overnight on Wall Street, the three major indexes moved in divergent directions amid continued weakness in technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.14 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.80 percent. The S&P 500 was flat.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 5.45 percent as Nvidia fell 1.39 percent and Micron Technology dropped 5.49 percent. It was a second straight session of losses, following the previous day's decline of more than 6 percent.
The US June nonfarm payrolls report showed job additions of 57,000, far below Wall Street's forecast of 115,000 as compiled by Dow Jones.
Markets had earlier worried that an overheating labor market would fuel inflationary pressure, but the weaker jobs data spread expectations that the Fed would face less pressure to raise interest rates this year.
Domestic stocks were under downward pressure Friday as overnight weakness in US technology shares compounded the ongoing foreign selling.
Among large-cap Kospi stocks, Samsung Electronics was up 1.66 percent while SK hynix fell 0.59 percent, reflecting a split performance among major semiconductor names. SK Square, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution and HD Hyundai Heavy were all in negative territory. KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group and Hanwha Aerospace were trading higher.
The Kosdaq opened up 8.46 points, or 0.98 percent, at 875.18 before turning lower and extending its losses. Foreigners were net selling 74.9 billion won, while retail and institutional investors were net buying 45.6 billion won and 14.9 billion won, respectively.
Among top Kosdaq stocks by market cap, secondary battery names including Ecopro BM and Ecopro, as well as Alteogen, were declining. Kolon TissueGene and Leeno Industrial were trading higher.
The won strengthened against the dollar as easing US rate-hike concerns weighed on the greenback, though the exchange rate remained elevated above the 1,500-won level. The won was trading at 1,544.5 won per dollar in the Seoul foreign exchange market Friday, down 11.3 won from the previous session.
th5@heraldcorp.com
