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A daily market brief, published each morning. Markets, stocks, industry, economy, global, and policy — sorted by category.

Markets·2026-07-10

Sharp Rally Clouded by Leverage-ETF Distortion

The Kospi extended gains through the session to close up roughly 4%, nearing the 7,600 mark, while the Kosdaq surged about 6% to top 840. Almost none of the top 50 market-cap stocks on the Kospi finished lower, with gains broad-based across sectors. The won held relatively steady around 1,506 per dollar. Foreign investors sold Kospi and Kosdaq cash equities while buying index futures, a split flow, while institutions were net buyers on both boards. However, panelists noted most institutional buying came from ETF-linked financial-investment accounts hedging retail ETF purchases rather than genuine bargain-hunting. Panelists observed that trading-volume leaders in recent sessions have overwhelmingly been leveraged and inverse ETF products, distorting how genuine good or bad news gets reflected in prices as mechanical ETF flows whipsaw the index. With the Kospi down roughly 20% from its peak, they warned that actual investor losses often feel far larger than the headline index decline suggests. Despite the day's rally, unease persisted among market participants, with some warning the index could swing from a 4% gain to a 3% loss within a single session. Panelists urged viewing this volatility itself as a warning sign rather than a buying opportunity.

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Markets·2026-07-09

Kospi swings on Iran geopolitical risk, recovers most of the day's losses

The Kospi opened higher on July 9 but extended losses to about 2% around 11:20 a.m. after reports that Iran's Revolutionary Guard had struck US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. WTI crude jumped roughly 3% to touch $74, while Taiwan's Taiex, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite all turned negative. The Kospi briefly broke below 7,100 and the Kosdaq fell about 0.4% toward 781. US Central Command announced after the market close that US forces had struck roughly 90 Iranian military sites in response to Iran's initial attack. Hosts noted the risk of an escalating tit-for-tat despite President Trump's earlier remarks that this was not an expansion of the war. Still, they observed that the US strikes were limited to military targets such as air defenses, minimizing civilian casualties, which could point to a contained response rather than full escalation. The index later pared losses on gains in chip and nuclear power stocks, closing up about 0.4% at 7,278 for the Kospi and up 1.3% at 795 for the Kosdaq. Foreign investors bought about 110 billion won in Kospi cash equities and extended a third straight day of futures buying, purchasing over 800 billion won. Pension funds also supported the market with over 740 billion won in net Kospi purchases. Hosts cited a Mirae Asset report noting that despite the Kospi's roughly 20% decline from its peak, valuation fear appears overdone as long as earnings forecasts hold. The index's forward P/E stands in the low six-times range, below levels seen during the global financial crisis, prompting cautious discussion of a possible bottom.

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Markets·2026-07-08

KOSPI Down Over 1%, KOSDAQ Down Over 3% in a Volatile Session

At the open, the KOSPI fell about 1.8% to around 7,518 points, while the KOSDAQ dropped roughly 3.8% to the 799-point level. Foreign investors sold across both cash and futures markets, and options data showed no sign of buying interest. Institutions bought roughly 1 trillion won worth of KOSPI shares, pension funds posted small net buys for a second straight day, and buying today was led mainly by financial-investment accounts. By the afternoon, losses narrowed — the KOSPI trimmed its decline to about -0.7%, touching the 7,600 level again. SK Hynix rose more than 3.6%, while Samsung Electronics fell about 2% but held the 290,000-won line. Foreigners kept selling, offloading roughly 560 billion won worth of shares, while institutions bought about 1.2 trillion won, led by LG Electronics and SK Hynix. The KOSDAQ, however, stayed down more than 3% at 805 points, with most large-cap names still weak. Given the elevated volatility, the hosts repeated their standing advice: avoid aggressive buying or selling, and especially avoid leveraged trades, until volatility cools. They also urged investors to set a personal loss threshold in advance — for example, trimming 30-40% of a position if it falls more than 10 percentage points worse than the broader market — not out of pessimism but to free up cash for the next opportunity. The larger point, they said, is building a personal plan and having the courage to act on it, taking an especially longer view on semiconductor stocks.

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