Kospi falls for 2nd straight session as foreign investors dump nearly W3tr in shares

The Kospi fell for a second consecutive session Tuesday, closing near the 6,870 level as rising US Treasury yields and higher crude oil prices weighed on sentiment. Foreign investors led the decline, posting net selling of nearly 3 trillion won on the main board.

According to Korea Exchange, the Kospi ended the day down 18.93 points, or 0.27 percent, at 6,870.81. The index opened sharply lower, falling 45.33 points, or 0.66 percent, to 6,844.41, before paring some of its losses.

Foreign investors net sold 2.9 trillion won on the Kospi, dragging the index lower. The selling followed 3.27 trillion won in net selling on Monday, marking two straight sessions of heavy foreign outflows. Individual and institutional investors net bought 1.14 trillion won and 120.7 billion won, respectively.

"The domestic stock market weakened as the burden of rising US Treasury yields intensified," said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. "A renewed uptick in international oil prices also limited appetite for risk assets, adding downward pressure on the market."

Overnight, US 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields climbed to 5.26 percent and 5.57 percent, respectively. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook stoked rate-hike concerns by saying that AI-related demand and rising oil prices could sustain inflationary pressure in the coming months. The probability of a rate hike at the October FOMC meeting, as measured by the CME FedWatch tool, rose to 72.52 percent.

"The market is showing signs of fatigue from repeated exposure to familiar uncertainties — rising rates and Middle East tensions," said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. "OpenAI's announcement that it has temporarily halted training on its top-tier model over safety concerns is also introducing noise into the agentic AI narrative."

The two semiconductor heavyweights trimmed their losses on bargain buying and closed near flat. Samsung Electronics rose 0.93 percent to 272,500 won, while SK hynix edged down 0.17 percent to 1.765 million won.

Among large-cap stocks, SK Square gained 1.64 percent and Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose 1.93 percent. LG Energy Solution fell 3.16 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 1.27 percent, and Samsung Life Insurance declined 1.86 percent.

The Kosdaq closed up 3.22 points, or 0.38 percent, at 849.80, reversing an early loss. The index had opened down 2.71 points, or 0.32 percent, at 843.87 before turning higher.

On the Kosdaq, individual investors net bought 148.3 billion won and institutions net bought 5.4 billion won. Foreign investors net sold 129.1 billion won.

Semiconductor materials, parts and equipment stocks were among the top performers on the Kosdaq. Jusung Engineering surged 6.22 percent, Wonik IPS gained 5.76 percent and Simtech rose 3.40 percent. Ecopro fell 3.79 percent, Ecopro BM dropped 4.67 percent and Rainbow Robotics declined 1.19 percent.

Global Technology and Bigwave Robotics, both of which made their Kosdaq debut Tuesday, surged 82.20 percent and 66.11 percent, respectively, at the close.