The Kospi plunged Monday, sliding toward the 7,000 mark as simultaneous selling by foreign and institutional investors triggered a sell-side sidecar during the session.
As of 10:51 a.m., the benchmark stood at 7,073.80, down 5.38 percent from the previous session.
The index opened at 7,412.03, down 63.91 points, or 0.85 percent, from the prior close, and briefly fell as low as 7,386.58 before recovering to 7,529.07. It then reversed sharply lower, and a sell-side sidecar was triggered at 10:33 a.m.
On the main Kospi market, foreign investors and institutions were net sellers of 246.1 billion won ($163 million) and 219.4 billion won, respectively, weighing on the index. Retail investors were the sole buyers, with net purchases of 460 billion won.
In the KOSPI 200 futures market, foreign investors also held a net selling position of 315.5 billion won.
Monday's session reflected a mix of positive and negative catalysts. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports from July 1 to July 10 surged 53.9 percent year-on-year to $29.8 billion, surpassing the previous record of $28.6 billion set during the June 1–10 period.
A broadly higher close on Wall Street last week also supported sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.29 percent, the S&P 500 rose 0.42 percent and the NASDAQ advanced 0.29 percent.
On the negative side, renewed military tensions between the US and Iran stoked risk-off sentiment. The US military said Monday morning it had carried out additional airstrikes against Iran. The attacks also pushed international oil prices higher.
Among large-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics was trading down 5.78 percent at 268,500 won, while SK Hynix fell 9.72 percent to 1.967 million won.
SK Square and Samsung Electro-Mechanics were also sharply lower, dropping 11.43 percent and 12.89 percent, respectively. LG Energy Solution and KB Financial Group bucked the trend, rising 2.76 percent and 1.36 percent.
The Kosdaq was down 1.36 percent at 826.06 at the same time, having opened up 2.29 points, or 0.27 percent, at 839.72 before turning lower.
In the Kosdaq market, foreign investors were net sellers, while institutions and retail investors provided support with net purchases of 113.6 billion won and 119.7 billion won, respectively.
moon@heraldcorp.com
