KOSPI Fails to Recover 7,000 Mark... Closes Lower After 6 Days

The KOSPI fell again after six trading days, failing to recover the 7,000-point mark. External factors, such as rising international oil prices due to Middle East tensions and hikes in Japanese government bond yields, dampened investor sentiment.

As tensions between the U.S. and Iran show no signs of easing, rising oil prices have reignited inflation concerns. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield hit a 30-year high, adding further pressure on the domestic stock market.

While foreigners have been net buyers for five consecutive sessions, buying interest has been concentrated in large-cap semiconductor stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. This highlights a structural vulnerability where the index is easily swayed by fluctuations in the semiconductor sector.

Market participation itself is thinning. Individual investors, who suffered losses from the KOSPI’s plunge and leverage investments last month, are reluctant to re-enter the market. The KOSPI’s daily average trading volume this month stands at approximately 25.7 trillion won, half of the levels seen in May and June, which exceeded 50 trillion won. The daily average trading volume is also at approximately 330 million shares, the lowest this year.

Park Sang-hyun, a researcher at iM Securities, diagnosed the situation as "investment fatigue," stating, "Although volatility has decreased, we haven't entered a trend of upward gains, so there are still aspects investors are wary of."