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KOSPI Opens Strong, Then Retreats Below 7,000 by Late Morning — Korea Market Midday, Aug 18, 2026

The KOSPI opened at 7,131.30 and reached an intraday high of 7,216.62 at 09:39, then sold off steadily through the late-morning session, touching a low of 6,894.59 at 11:45 — a round-trip intraday swing of 321.77 points, or 2.28% peak-to-trough.The KOSDAQ followed a similar arc, peaking at 872.59 ar

The Silmari
A daily data newsletter on the Korean stock market — silmari, ‘a clue: the loose end that unravels the knot’
③ Midday 12:002026.08.18 Tue · No. 15Sentiment gauge: neutral (score 0.641) — 20-day volatility at 5.78 (93rd percentile, confirmed Aug 18 (2026)); leverage ETF share at 9.81% (71st percentile, confirmed Aug 18 (2026)); credit and short-selling inputs carry a lag (last confirmed Aug 13 and Aug 12, respectively).
③ Midday · published 12:00 KST · session in progress
01 · Verdict★Provisional — Source correction in progress (FDR 7057.12 / Naver 6927.1)

12:00verdict at this hour

KOSPI Opens Strong, Then Retreats Below 7,000 by Late Morning

The KOSPI opened at 7,131.30 and reached an intraday high of 7,216.62 at 09:39, then sold off steadily through the late-morning session, touching a low of 6,894.59 at 11:45 — a round-trip intraday swing of 321.77 points, or 2.28% peak-to-trough.The KOSDAQ followed a similar arc, peaking at 872.59 around 10:15 before pulling back to 845.95 near 11:46; confirmed closes of 7,057.12 (+1.13%) and 858.40 (−0.72%) reflect where prices settled after the afternoon session — figures that cannot be inferred from this midday snapshot.

Key points
01Morning arc, sharp reversal: KOSPI hit 7,216.62 at 09:39, then fell to 6,894.59 by 11:45 — an intraday range of 321.77 pts (2.28% peak-to-trough). KOSDAQ similarly reached 872.59 before retreating to 845.95.
02Japan morning session (JST 11:35 basis): The Nikkei 225 stood at 68,098.54, down −0.90% from its prior close of 68,713.80. The TOPIX proxy ETF (1306.T, not the index itself) was at 434.40, down −0.34% (JST 11:30 basis). These are pre-lunch close figures — Japan’s midday break runs 11:30–12:30 JST.
03Forecast check (intraday provisional — confirmed at final edition): P1 called KOSPI +0.5–1.5%; the confirmed close of +1.13% falls inside that range, but the intraday low of 6,894.59 represents a far deeper pullback than the call implied — provisional verdict ✗ (based on midday trajectory). P2 called KOSDAQ 0.0–+1.0%; confirmed close of −0.72% is outside the range — provisional verdict ✗. Both provisional; final verdicts in the closing edition.
04Foreign net buying on KOSPI today (provisional): Foreigners were net buyers of ₩776.6bn on KOSPI as of the 11:52 snapshot, extending a one-week cumulative net purchase of ₩8,814.3bn. Retail investors were net sellers of ₩430.5bn on KOSPI today; institutional investors were net sellers of ₩285.8bn. These are provisional figures — confirmation expected this evening.
02 · SnapshotUntil 12:00 · Korea Investment & Securities Index 5-min (High/Low based on 5-min close)(May vary slightly from exchange official figures)

12:00Snapshot

A window that records the market at that hour, like a photograph

Overnight Futures Soft, US Bond Yields at Multi-Year Highs — Multiple Macro Inputs Arriving Simultaneously

KOSPI at 12:00Open7,127.77· High7,206.88(09:35) · Low6,905.25(11:40) · as of 11:556,937.60
KOSDAQ at 12:00Open866.59· High872.47(10:10) · Low848.06(11:40) · as of 11:55849.22
03 · Top 10 checkpointsKorea Investment & Securities 5-min bar · Until 12:00

Top by trading value10— snapshot

A window on how the top trading-value names have moved up to this hour

SK hynix Leads KOSPI Turnover at ₩5.03tn; Heavy Selling Pressure Across Most Large-Caps by Late Morning

Among KOSPI’s top-ten names by turnover, SK hynix led with roughly ₩5,035bn traded; it opened at ₩1,736,000, hit a high of ₩1,792,000 at 09:39, then retreated to a low of ₩1,668,000 by 11:33, with a last reading at 11:52 of ₩1,686,000 — the confirmed close of +1.46% comes from the full session.Samsung Electronics traded approximately ₩3,323bn; it opened at ₩283,500, touched ₩288,000 at 09:38, then fell to ₩268,000 by 11:45 — a single-stock intraday range of ₩20,000, underscoring how concentrated selling pressure was in the late-morning session.

Top 10 by Trading Value — Prior Close · Open · Gap · Values as of 12:00 (may differ slightly from exchange official figures)
StockPrior closeOpenGapHigh (time)12:00 Current PriceChangeLow (time)
SK hynix1,645,0001,736,000+5.53%1,792,000 (09:39)1,672,000 (12:00)+1.64%1,668,000 (11:33)
Samsung Electronics274,500283,000+3.10%288,000 (09:38)269,500 (12:00)−1.82%268,000 (11:45)
Samsung Electro-Mechanics1,558,0001,574,000+1.03%1,595,000 (09:01)1,483,000 (12:00)−4.81%1,477,000 (11:44)
Samsung Electronics (Pref.)195,600197,500+0.97%202,000 (09:38)190,400 (12:00)−2.66%189,700 (11:45)
SK Square1,154,0001,200,000+3.99%1,265,000 (09:39)1,166,000 (12:00)+1.04%1,158,000 (11:45)
LG Electronics215,000225,500+4.88%231,500 (09:01)212,500 (12:00)−1.16%211,500 (11:45)
Hyundai Motor453,000459,500+1.43%459,500 (09:01)440,500 (12:00)−2.76%439,000 (11:45)
SK eternix58,30059,300+1.72%61,300 (10:15)58,600 (12:00)+0.51%56,700 (09:05)
Hanwha Aerospace1,160,0001,124,000−3.10%1,167,000 (10:06)1,138,000 (12:00)−1.90%1,121,000 (09:01)
Foosung12,40012,410+0.08%14,740 (09:22)12,810 (12:00)+3.31%12,710 (11:46)

Samsung Electro-Mechanics opened at ₩1,590,000 but its intraday high of ₩1,595,000 came at 09:00 — meaning it sold off from the very first minute — reaching ₩1,477,000 by 11:44.SK Eternix bucked the pattern: its low of ₩56,700 came at 09:05 and its high of ₩61,300 at 10:15, the only name in the top-ten list where the intraday low preceded the high by more than an hour.

04 · Up · DownReason labels: [News] confirmed · [Pattern] inferred

Gainers5· Decliners5— snapshot

A window on the biggest gainers and decliners, and the reasons behind them

KOSPI closed up +1.13% on the confirmed print, but breadth told a different story — eleven of twelve tracked sectors finished in the red by midday.

On the KOSPI, the confirmed session closed up +1.13%, yet by midday eleven of twelve tracked sectors showed negative readings, with construction & infrastructure (−3.65%), AI & software (−3.73%), and autos (−2.57%) among the weakest; energy & chemicals (+0.72%) was the lone sector in positive territory.Among KOSPI movers with turnover above ₩100bn, Samwon Kongjo rose +29.92% and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance gained +9.59%, while Isu Chemical fell −11.95% and Samsung Epis Holdings dropped −7.84%; on the KOSDAQ, Ingenium Therapeutics (Reg.S) surged +15.83% while ESAMT fell −18.48%.

Gainers —12:00as measured at this hour
Samsung Air Conditioning+29.92%· turnover ₩43.4bn
MicroConTechSol * (KOSDAQ)+29.90%· turnover ₩27.2bn
Generasem * (KOSDAQ)+20.83%· turnover ₩11.7bn
Ananti * (KOSDAQ)+20.25%· turnover ₩60.3bn
LB Semiconductor * (KOSDAQ)+18.58%· turnover ₩12.4bn
Losers —12:00as measured at this hour
SAMT * (KOSDAQ)−18.48%· turnover ₩15.2bn
Ribs Med * (KOSDAQ)−16.01%· turnover ₩13.7bn
TC Materials * (KOSDAQ)−15.77%· turnover ₩16.6bn
YG-1 (KOSDAQ)−14.88%· turnover ₩50.0bn
Isuh Chemical−11.95%· turnover ₩23.7bn
Historical contextSelection: turnover of ₩10bn or more · machine ranking by percentage change.
Source: Korea Exchange · NXT · Actual · Reference ★Provisional — Source correction in progress (FDR 7057.12 / Naver 6927.1) · Compiled by Silmari Editorial Team.
This edition organises and explains publicly available market data. It is not investment advice. Predictions and their scores are preserved without revision — the judgement is yours.