[이코노믹리뷰=정다희 기자] The KOSPI is showing weakness in the morning due to concerns about supply insecurity due to China’s city blockade and the influx of vigilant sentiment ahead of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting in March.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 15th, as of 11:30 am, the KOSPI was trading at 2,629.49, down 0.62% from the previous trading day. The index started at 2,630.31, down 15.34 points (0.58%) from the previous day, and continues to be weak due to foreign and institutional selling.
In the KOSPI, while individuals alone net bought KRW 38.2 billion, foreigners and institutions were net sellers of KRW 295.8 billion and KRW 81.9 billion, respectively.
It is interpreted that the domestic stock market is also weak in the morning as investor sentiment has slightly contracted ahead of the FOMC in March, and concerns about a rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in China and a chain of blockades increase.
The previous day, China’s quarantine authorities imposed a seven-day city lockdown until the 21st in Shenzhen, one of the first-tier cities to prevent the spread of Corona. As a result, Chinese technology stocks fell sharply due to the lockdown in Shenzhen, where major Chinese IT companies such as Tencent and Huawei were concentrated. %, -0.5%.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “Although the FOMC sentiment is at the bottom in March, if we estimate the factors that changed the market rapidly during the day, concerns about further strengthening of lockdown due to the rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in China and panic selling in the Hong Kong stock market caused panic selling. “It seems that the bad news from the Greater China region is pulling the domestic stock market down, such as the spread of concerns in the Asian stock market, the escalation of the US-China conflict over the possibility of China’s arms support to Russia, and the disappointment caused by the People’s Bank of China freezing interest rates,” he explained.
“However, it should be noted that there are also relief factors in the market, such as the sharp drop in international oil prices, retail sales in China in January and February (6.7% expected, 3.0%), and industrial production (7.5%, expected 3.9%),” he added.
By industry, except for medical precision (3.03%) and banking (1.72%), the rest of the industries fell. Construction, machinery and textiles and apparel were down 2%.
Among the top stocks by market capitalization, Kakao Bank and Samsung Biologics are outperforming by 2% and 1%. SK Hynix (-2.16%) and LG Chem (-2.63%) are on a rather large decline.
On the other hand, the KOSDAQ recorded 871.15, down 0.15% from the battlefield, recording a weak trend. Individuals are also net buying 81.6 billion won on the KOSDAQ. Foreigners and institutions are net selling worth 54.3 billion won and 26.8 billion won, respectively.
