KOSPI Falls Below 7,000, Foreigners Sell for Second Straight Day
The KOSPI index fell about 2.5%, sliding into the 6,800 range and failing to hold the 7,000 level. The KOSDAQ also widened its decline from 1.8% to over 2% by the close, dropping to the 810-point range. Foreign investors expanded their intraday net selling on the KOSPI exchange from roughly 1.5 trillion won to about 1.9 trillion won by the close, and also net sold about 300 billion won on the KOSDAQ. In the futures market, foreigners sold more than 1.1 trillion won for a second consecutive day, keeping supply-demand pressure elevated.
The won-dollar exchange rate rebounded slightly overnight before weakening again, moving past the 1,347 won level. The market decline was attributed to a combination of factors: the rise in the U.S. August producer price index, oil prices breaking back above $100, fears of an Israel-Iran escalation, and an additional rate hike by the European Central Bank.
Next week's schedule was also flagged as a key point to watch. With the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England all set to announce rate decisions around September 17-18 Korean time, that period was cited as when monetary policy uncertainty should first be resolved. It was also suggested that once this uncertainty clears, semiconductor export data due around September 20 could serve as a catalyst for upward revisions to earnings estimates.