This week in review
A window on where the market moved over the week
KOSPI closed Friday at 6,258.77, ending the week down 5.1% while KOSDAQ surged 10.98%
A week of extremes: KOSPI shed 5.1% as foreigners net sold ₩2.87tn; KOSDAQ posted its second-best weekly return of the year
The week opened with a shock: Monday’s 5.12% KOSPI plunge was met by foreign net selling of ₩1.52tn, even as KOSDAQ defied the rout with a 2.44% gain.Tuesday and Wednesday saw partial recovery — SOX-linked buying lifted the index 1.62% and then 3.76% — before Thursday delivered a second heavy blow of 4.58%, with foreigners selling another ₩1.08tn.Friday’s 0.60% retreat closed a week defined by rotation: retail investors absorbed ₩3.26tn on net while foreign investors shed ₩2.87tn across five sessions.
The week in numbers
A window measuring the week’s change, its range and where it sits within the year
KOSPI’s 9.78% weekly range ranked 17th widest of 32 weeks; KOSDAQ’s 15.56% range ranked 7th
| Item | KOSPI | KOSDAQ | Rank this year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly change | −5.10% | +10.98% | KOSPI: rank 26 of 31 weeks |
| Weekly high–low range | +9.78% | +15.56% | KOSPI: rank 17 of 32 weeks |
| Friday close | 6,258.77 | 798.81 | — |
Weekly flows — who bought and who sold
A window on how much foreign investors, retail investors, investment firms and pension funds each bought and sold over the week
Foreigners net sold ₩2.87tn on the week; retail absorbed ₩3.26tn — the two largest flows of the five-session period
| Day | KOSPI | Foreign investors | Retail investors | Investment firms | Pension funds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon (08.03) | −5.12% | −₩1.52tn | +₩2.21tn | −₩737.6bn | −₩90.6bn |
| Tue (08.04) | +1.62% | +₩247.9bn | +₩326.4bn | −₩252.0bn | +₩86.0bn |
| Wed (08.05) | +3.76% | +₩343.3bn | −₩481.7bn | +₩131.8bn | +₩98.6bn |
| Thu (08.06) | −4.58% | −₩1.08tn | +₩945.7bn | +₩13.7bn | +₩127.7bn |
| Fri (08.07) | −0.60% | −₩865.1bn | +₩267.5bn | +₩601.9bn | −₩116.6bn |
| Weekly total | −5.10% | −₩2.87tn | +₩3.26tn | −₩242.2bn | +₩105.1bn |
Foreign investors were net sellers in four of five sessions, with the heaviest outflows on Monday (₩1.52tn) and Thursday (₩1.08tn); their sole net-buying day was Wednesday (₩343.3bn).Retail investors provided the counterweight, posting net purchases on four of five days for a weekly total of ₩3.26tn; Monday’s ₩2.21tn inflow was the largest single-session retail figure of the week.Institutional investors (excluding pension funds) were net sellers for the week at ₩242.2bn, though they bought ₩601.9bn on Friday; the National Pension Service was a small net buyer at ₩105.1bn for the five sessions combined.
What each group bought and sold
A window on the stock each group bought most and sold most that week
Foreigners dumped SK hynix (₩3.51tn net sold); retail bought the same stock (₩4.44tn net bought) — the week’s defining cross-flow
| Investor group | Bought most | Sold most |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign investors | Celltrion+₩83.8bn | SK hynix−₩3.51tn |
| Retail investors | SK hynix+₩4.44tn | Celltrion−₩136.9bn |
| Investment firms | Samsung Electro-Mechanics+₩162.1bn | Samsung Electronics−₩1.67tn |
| Pension funds | LG Electronics+₩50.7bn | Samsung Electronics−₩335.0bn |
SK hynix was the week’s clearest battleground: foreign investors were net sellers of ₩3.51tn while retail investors were net buyers of ₩4.44tn in the same name.Elsewhere, institutional investors net bought Samsung Electro-Mechanics (₩162.1bn) and net sold Samsung Electronics (₩1.67tn); the National Pension Service net bought LG Electronics (₩50.7bn) and net sold Samsung Electronics (₩335.0bn); foreign investors were the week’s largest net buyers of Celltrion (₩83.8bn), which retail simultaneously net sold (₩136.9bn).
The week’s events
A window on what moved the market over the week and what followed, in order
Friday’s headline events: SK hynix confirms ₩54tn fab investment; China’s July exports rose 24% with Korean imports doubling
| Day | Layer | Event | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri | Industry | SK hynix confirms ₩54tn total investment in Yongin Phase-2 fab and Cheongju M17 | KOSPI -0.60% |
| Fri | Industry | POSCO Holdings raises ₩2.5tn in investment capital via stake sales in POSCO International and DX | KOSPI -0.60% |
| Fri | Industry | AI-driven demand lifts China’s July exports 24%; imports of Korean goods double | KOSPI -0.60% |
| Fri | Industry | AI boom: South Korea and Taiwan each surpass Japan in H1 export value for the first time on record | KOSPI -0.60% |
| Fri | Policy | President Lee declares four townships in Andong and Uiseong special disaster zones following heavy-rain damage | KOSPI -0.60% |
| Fri | Policy | President Lee: “Apology to victims of state violence — state responsibility has no expiration date” | KOSPI -0.60% |
| Fri | Industry | AI chip startups · TSMC 1.4nm fab · HP’s acquisition of CXMT DRAM — key overseas developments | KOSPI -0.60% |
Wall Street scoreboard — weekly summary
A window grading, cumulatively, whether the stance of US investment bank reports matched reality three days later
Wall Street scoreboard: 14 hits in 26 calls (54%); no new verdicts this week
The scoreboard tracks brokerage calls on Korean equities or the KOSPI index, scoring each against the three-session price move after publication; no new calls reached their three-day verdict window this week.The cumulative record stands at 14 hits from 26 scored calls (54%) since tracking began; among the five most recent verdicts shown, the two most recent positive calls on KOSPI and SK hynix both resulted in negative three-day returns of 5.08% and 19.23% respectively.
| Institutions | Report | Actual | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernstein (06.22) | Samsung Electronics—Bernstein raises targets for Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron…”Rising memory prices ease AI cost pressures” (Positive) | +1.41% | ✓ |
| Nomura (06.24) | Samsung Electronics—Nomura “590K→670K”…Samsung target raised again (Positive) | −5.14% | ✗ |
| JPMorgan (06.25) | KOSPI—JPMorgan raises 12-month target to 12,500…”Maximize Korean equity weight” (Positive) | −5.08% | ✗ |
| Morgan Stanley (07.13) | SK Hynix—Semiconductor overbought warning (memory winter precedent) (Negative) | −0.16% | ✓ |
| Barclays (07.23) | SK Hynix—Target price $330 (117% upside) (Positive) | −19.23% | ✗ |
The week’s lesson
A window for what to carry past the end of the week
Five sessions, four lessons: wide ranges, divided flows, and a scoreboard that missed its last two big calls
A week this volatile — two sessions down more than 4%, one up nearly 4%, and KOSDAQ outperforming KOSPI by more than 16 percentage points — offers many explanations after the fact and few clean signals before it.The judgment is each reader’s own.