Kospi slips for third straight session, falling short of 7,000

The Kospi fell for a third consecutive session Wednesday, closing in the 6,800 range as caution ahead of key US economic data and Micron's earnings weighed on the index, compounding pressure from a surge in US government bond yields.

According to Korea Exchange, the benchmark index finished at 6,838.04, down 32.77 points, or 0.48 percent, from the previous session.

The index opened sharply higher, rising 72.66 points, or 1.06 percent, to 6,943.47, and at one point climbed as much as 1.38 percent to within striking distance of the 7,000 mark. It gradually pared gains before turning negative in the afternoon.

Foreign investors and institutions drove the decline, posting net selling of 2.06 trillion won ($1.51 billion) and 771.8 billion won, respectively, on the main board. Foreign investors extended their selling streak to four consecutive sessions. Individual investors bought for a third straight session, snapping up 1.17 trillion won worth of shares, while other corporations recorded net purchases of around 1.65 trillion won.

The Kospi had risen in the morning, buoyed by strength in semiconductor stocks on Wall Street on Tuesday. Sentiment soured, however, as investors braced for the release of US personal consumption expenditures inflation data later Wednesday and Micron's third-quarter earnings, due early Thursday.

"Both events are key indicators for gauging the Federal Reserve's future monetary policy path and the momentum of the AI and semiconductor sectors, which is why caution crept in ahead of the results," said Lee Kyung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities. "The fact that foreign investors have continued net selling for four straight sessions also added to supply-demand pressure."

Samsung Electronics closed down 1.47 percent at 272,500 won, while SK hynix rose 0.62 percent to 1.776 million won.

Among large-cap stocks, SK Square gained 1.88 percent, LG Energy Solution rose 1.28 percent and Samsung Biologics edged up 0.43 percent. On the losing side, Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 0.98 percent, Hyundai Motor dropped 1.43 percent, KB Financial Group declined 2.71 percent and Samsung Life Insurance slid 2.93 percent.

The Kosdaq bucked the trend, closing up 6.11 points, or 0.72 percent, at 855.91 — its fourth consecutive session of gains. The index opened up 4.98 points, or 0.59 percent, at 854.78 and extended its advance through the session.

On the Kosdaq, foreign investors recorded net selling of 69 billion won, while institutions and individuals posted net purchases of 49 billion won and 12 billion won, respectively.

Among top Kosdaq stocks by market capitalization, Alteogen rose 0.39 percent, Ecopro gained 2.28 percent and Ecopro BM climbed 2.83 percent. Semiconductor equipment stocks also posted strong gains, with Jusung Engineering up 4.73 percent, EO Technics advancing 4.94 percent and HPSP rising 4.43 percent.