Both Indices Down: KOSPI -6.12%, KOSDAQ -5.14% — Korea Close & Tomorrow Outlook 26/05/15
Hey, Dongchun here.
Here is how the Korean market closed today.
The single fact that defines today is that the KOSPI's first-ever 8,000 print collapsed into a -6.12% rout in the same session, with a sell-side sidecar triggered for the 16th time this year. Foreigners offloaded 5.56 trillion KRW for a seventh straight session of net selling, and the rotation out of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix accelerated even as retail absorbed 7.2 trillion KRW. The single thing to watch into Monday's open is whether the foreign selling streak extends to an eighth session — that is the signal that decides whether 7,500 holds as support or becomes resistance.
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1. Korea Market Close
The KOSPI closed at 7,493.18, down -6.12% from the previous session, after spiking to a record 8,046.78 in the morning and collapsing by 553 points into the close. The KOSDAQ followed lower, ending at 1,129.82 for a -5.14% decline as both large caps and small caps fell together.
The single biggest driver was concentrated foreign selling on the KOSPI for a seventh consecutive session. At 1:28 p.m., KOSPI 200 futures fell -5.09% and triggered a sell-side sidecar — the 16th sidecar of the year — halting program sell orders for five minutes.
Breadth was uniformly weak. Electrical and electronics fell -4.63%, construction -6.79%, chemicals -3.01%, finance -2.47% and manufacturing -4.04%, leaving almost no sector unharmed. The VIX rose +4.69% to 18.07 overnight, still below 20 but a clear shift higher.
| Index | Close | Change | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOSPI | 7,493.18 | -6.12% | Heavy — Samsung Elec alone KRW 5.43T |
| KOSDAQ | 1,129.82 | -5.14% | Broad-based selling |
2. Foreign Flow Analysis
Foreign investors net sold KRW 5.56 trillion (~$3.7B) on the KOSPI, extending their selling streak to a seventh straight session. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix bore the brunt — May cumulative outflows are KRW 6.4 trillion for SK Hynix and KRW 5.5 trillion for Samsung Electronics.
Institutions added another KRW 1.74 trillion of net sales. Retail investors absorbed KRW 7.2 trillion on the buy side, the largest single-day retail bid of the cycle, but it was not enough to stop the index from falling -6.12%.
The combined pattern implies continued pressure into Monday. US overnight futures are weak, so a foreign-selling pause is the leading indicator to watch tonight rather than retail flow.
| Investor | KOSPI Net | KOSDAQ Net | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreigners | -5,560 B KRW | Net seller | 7-session streak |
| Institutions | -1,740 B KRW | Net seller | Joining foreign selling |
| Retail | +7,200 B KRW | Net buyer | Heavy dip-buying |
3. Sector Breakdown
The dominant theme of today's Korea session was a uniform large-cap risk-off driven by foreign profit-taking after the KOSPI's first-ever 8,000 print. Macro tailwinds from US AI-infrastructure strength were overwhelmed by FX and geopolitical pressure.
There were essentially no winning sectors at the index level. The few notable advancers were robotics and selected shipping names — Doosan Robotics surged +19.85% to 128,000 KRW and Heung-A Shipping (003280) rose +4.95% — as foreigners rotated into next-generation themes.
The lagging sectors led the market lower. Semiconductors were the epicenter with Samsung Electronics (005930) -8.61% and SK Hynix (000660) -7.66%, batteries with LG Energy Solution (373220) -5.66% on a Q1 EPS miss, and internet with NAVER (035420) -4.46% and Kakao (035720) -4.24%. Construction (-6.79%) and manufacturing (-4.04%) confirmed the breadth of the decline.
| Sector | Direction | Key Stock | Change | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semiconductors | ▼ Crash | Samsung (005930), SK Hynix (000660) | -8.61% / -7.66% | Foreign rotation out of chips |
| Batteries | ▼ Weak | LG Energy (373220) | -5.66% | Q1 EPS miss -198.7% vs consensus |
| Internet | ▼ Weak | NAVER (035420), Kakao (035720) | -4.46% / -4.24% | Broad large-cap selloff |
| Robotics | ▲ Strong | Doosan Robotics | +19.85% | Foreign rotation into next-gen themes |
| Shipping | ▲ Strong | Heung-A Shipping | +4.95% | Sector-specific bid |
4. Stocks on My Radar
| Ticker | Price | Session % | Key Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMNR | $22.00 | +3.87% | ETH holdings 5.21M; $13.4B total assets |
| NVO | $45.80 | -2.72% | Wegovy 7.2mg data digested; profit-taking |
| ZETA | $16.58 | +3.37% | Cisco beat lifts software risk appetite |
| ORCL | $195.61 | +3.08% | OCI Enterprise AI adopted by DoD, SoftBank |
| SMR | $12.06 | +0.84% | Q1 revenue $0.6M; Citi PT $9→$7 |
| COIN | $212.01 | +5.06% | Senate Clarity Act momentum; Redburn PT $254→$263 |
| LAES | $3.09 | +4.39% | Quantum-resistant chip pipeline intact |
| ASTS | $83.01 | +10.96% | AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon JV; BlackRock stake +22% |
BMNR rose +3.87% after disclosing 5.21M ETH and $13.4B in total assets, slowing fresh buys to optimize MAVAN staking yields. NVO fell -2.72% on profit-taking despite high-dose Wegovy 7.2mg posting an average 27.7% body-weight reduction at 72 weeks.
ZETA gained +3.37% as Cisco's earnings beat and order-guidance raise lifted software risk appetite. ORCL added +3.08% on OCI Enterprise AI adoption by the US Department of Defense and SoftBank, plus a growing RPO backlog and analyst upgrades.
SMR edged up +0.84% even with a soft Q1 ($0.6M revenue, $46.7M loss) and target cuts from Citi to $7 and Northland to $19. COIN jumped +5.06% on Senate Banking Committee discussion of the Clarity Act and a Rothschild Redburn target raise to $263.
LAES rose +4.39% with quantum-resistant chip momentum intact and supply stabilizing after its AGM. ASTS surged +10.96% on the AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon satellite direct-to-device JV, BlackRock raising its stake to 22%, the Texas production facility going live, and Roth Capital lifting its target to $108 from $82.50.
5. Earnings Watch
Korean earnings dropped May 14 with LG Energy Solution missing badly and LG Chem coming in line, helping explain part of today's battery-and-chemical weakness.
| Company | EPS Est | EPS Actual | Rev Est | Rev Actual | Result | After-Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Energy Solution | -967.14 KRW | -2,889 KRW | n/a | n/a | miss (-198.7%) | -5.66% |
| LG Chem | -4,642 KRW | -4,449 KRW | n/a | n/a | in-line (+4.2%) | n/a |
The standout was LG Energy Solution's EPS miss of nearly 200% versus consensus, which weighed on the entire battery complex on the day even before the foreign-selling wave hit. LG Chem's in-line print provided no offsetting cushion.
| Company | Report Date | Consensus EPS | Watch For |
|---|---|---|---|
| SK Holdings (034730) | 2026-05-21 | KRW 11,019 | Refining/energy flow-through with oil rising |
The Korea read-through into next week is direct. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix face renewed pressure from foreign rotation and rising USD/KRW, while SK Holdings on May 21 becomes the next index-level earnings catalyst.
6. Options Expiry
Today is US monthly options expiration, the third Friday of May. Large S&P 500-linked options positions roll off and market-maker hedging flows around expiry can temporarily widen volatility.
Post-expiry, the first trading session typically sees options-related distortion clear and volatility compress. However, with US futures already weak on Trump's Iran rhetoric, Korean gap risk for Monday skews to the downside rather than the usual post-OpEx mean-reversion.
7. Tomorrow's Korea Open
S&P 500 futures are at 7,485.25 (-0.53%) and Nasdaq futures at 29,464.25 (-0.75%) heading into the weekend. Combined with USD/KRW pinned at 1,498.60 and Brent crude at $106.97 (+1.18%) on Trump's Iran remarks, the KOSPI likely opens with a gap down on Monday May 18.
Any after-hours strength in US AI/semiconductor names has been overshadowed by the geopolitical risk premium. The direct read-through for Korea is more pain in Samsung Electronics (005930) and SK Hynix (000660), which already lost -8.61% and -7.66% respectively today.
Macro events to watch into early next week include Fed-speaker remarks and the April retail-sales release. The VIX at 18.07 (+4.69%) is still below 20 but the rising trend signals fading risk appetite — a VIX print above 20 alongside continued foreign selling would extend the Korean downside.
| Scenario | Trigger Condition | KOSPI Target |
|---|---|---|
| Bull | US futures recover toward flat AND foreign selling streak pauses at session 7 | Reclaim 7,500, test 7,600 |
| Neutral | Futures stay -0.5% AND foreigners sell ~KRW 1T more | 7,300–7,500 range |
| Bear | Brent above $108 AND USD/KRW breaks 1,500 AND foreign net sell > KRW 2T | Test support below 7,300 |
The base case is a gap-down open on Monday that tests whether 7,500 flips from support to resistance. Readers without direct KRX access can track Korean exposure via EWY (iShares MSCI South Korea) or the Samsung Electronics GDR.
The first 8,000 print was crushed by a 5.56 trillion KRW foreign sell wall in the same session. The only question into Monday is whether the seven-session selling streak finally pauses or runs into an eighth.
So — where does this leave us going into tomorrow?
That's the PM breakdown for May 15. Trade safe.
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