Sector Leaders & Laggards
Gaining Sectors
Wireless Telecom Services+4.80%
Property & Casualty Insurance+3.55%
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment+2.97%
Declining Sectors
Energy Equipment & Services-7.07%
Aerospace & Defense-6.90%
Electronic Equipment & Instruments-6.04%
79 sectors· 18 up· 1 unchanged· 60 down· 33 fewer gaining sectors than the prior day's 51
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment +2.97%· Of 171 stocks: 14 up· 5 unchanged· 152 down100 fewer advancers than the prior day's 114· Sector rank fell from No. 1 to No. 4
Life Insurance 4 stocks · Wireless Telecom Services 4 · Stationery 1Market-cap weightedSector indexes weight constituents by market capitalization· larger stocks have more influence· In sectors with few constituents, one stock can determine the ranking
Sector Read
01The sector rose, but· 152 stocks within it declined
The order within semiconductors· Sector · theme · stock classification shown explicitly
| Name | Category | Change |
|---|
| Samsung Electronics | Stock | +3.87% |
| S7A theme grouping seven large-cap semiconductor stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix(Large-Cap Semiconductors) | Theme | +3.58% |
| Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment | Sector | +2.97% |
| SK Hynix | Stock | +2.31% |
| SK Square | Stock | +0.00% |
| Semiconductor Materials/Components | Theme | -4.54% |
| HBMHigh Bandwidth Memory· DRAM stacked in multiple layers to increase bandwidth | Theme | -4.77% |
| Samsung Electro-Mechanics | Stock | -5.73% |
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment +2.97%· No. 4 of 79 sectors· Of 171 stocks: 14 up· 5 unchanged· 152 downReversed in one day from 114 advancers and the No. 1 sector rank
Large-cap memory and Materials, Parts & Equipmentmaterials · parts · equipment· suppliers of materials and equipment to major semiconductor producersdiverged in sign this timePrior day both rose· with only the magnitude gap separating them
System Semiconductors -4.55%· SOCAMM -5.76%· Power Semiconductors -3.54%Semiconductor themes also moved opposite to the two large-cap names
SK Square +0.00%· unchangedprior day +11.85%
Only the No. 1 and No. 2 stocks by market cap rose; most other semiconductor names fell
02Stocks tied to dividend expectations led the gainers
Where gains appeared· Sector · theme · stock classification shown explicitly
| Name | Category | Change |
|---|
| Samsung Life Insurance | Stock | +10.61% |
| Life Insurance | Sector | +8.88% |
| Samsung Electronics Preferred | Stock | +8.26% |
| Samsung C&T | Stock | +5.75% |
| Wireless Telecom Services | Sector | +4.80% |
| Property & Casualty Insurance | Sector | +3.55% |
18 of 79 sectors gained· down 33 from the prior day's 51
Life Insurance +8.88%· Of 4 stocks: 1 up· 1 unchanged· 2 downSecond straight day near the top after ranking No. 2 at +7.57% the prior day· Samsung Life was the only gainer
Samsung Electronics Preferred +8.26%· 4.39%p above Samsung Electronics common shares at +3.87%Consistent with expectations centered on cash dividends
Banks +2.36%· No. 7 of 79last the prior day at -3.50%· same direction as the rebound in U.S. long yields
Samsung-affiliated names tied to dividend expectations· Insurance led the upside
03Prior-day leaders moved back
One day after the Aug. 20 top and bottom sectors· All sector-weighted values
| Sector | 08.20 | 08.21 |
|---|
| Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment | +10.51% | +2.97% |
| Life Insurance | +7.57% | +8.88% |
| Nonferrous Metals | +6.35% | -0.76% |
| Biotechnology | +5.94% | -5.62% |
| Banks | -3.50% | +2.36% |
The prior day's No. 1 Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment slipped to No. 4· gain narrowed by 7.54%p
Among the prior day's top four sectors, only Life Insurance improved in rankNonferrous Metals and Biotechnology turned negative
Banks went from last to No. 7The rebound in U.S. long yields flipped the direction
No. 1 sector changed for a seventh straight session
What to Watch Next Session
Next-Session Probability· Downside bias based on domestic closing signals
45:55· Not a quantitative forecast probability· Relative weight of conditions confirmed at the 15:30 closeThe Samsung Electronics board result released after the close and the Aug. 21 U.S. regular session are not included in this probability
UpsideInstitutional cash +KRW248.1bn turned to buying· ended four straight days of selling· SK Hynix also turned to institutional buying at +KRW111.4bnKOSPI recovered the Aug. 18 close of 6,869.83· closed 43.12 points above it· above 6,900SOXPhiladelphia Semiconductor Index· Representative gauge of global semiconductor stocks +0.53%· Rebounded after three sessions· same direction as domestic large-cap memoryKorea Customs Service Aug. 1–20 semiconductor exports $26.03bn· 47.2% of total exports· a real-economy indicator supporting the relative strength of large-cap semiconductorsKRWstrengthened for a fourth straight day· Domestic FX daytime-session 15:30 close USD/KRW1,386.5· down KRW6.1 from the prior day
DownsideForeign cash -KRW176.1bn and program trading -KRW772.1bn · non-arbitrage -KRW837.8bn all turned to selling in the same directionAdvancer ratio shrank from above half to roughly one in five· 18 sectors · 16 themes· Only 14 semiconductor-sector stocks advancedForeign buying concentrated in Samsung Electronics· Outside the two large-cap names, net -KRW907.4bn selling bias· widened from -KRW80.8bn the prior dayKOSDAQ -4.63%· Sell-sidecar at 10:05· barely held 800· All of the top 19 stocks by market cap declinedU.S. long yields rebounded· 30Y 5.23% · 10Y 4.69%· WTI Aug. 20 final rose to $87.83
Variables Excluded from the ProbabilitySamsung Electronics board meeting· Excluded from probability because it occurred after the domestic close· Result is covered under Post-Close VariablesKorea July Producer PricesOutput-price index for goods and services supplied domestically by companies· Compiled by the Bank of Korea· Feeds into consumer prices with a lag MoM -0.4%· The Bank of Korea cited an 11% MoM rise in international oil prices over Aug. 1–19 as upside pressure, so the figure is excluded as a directional signalRetail cash -KRW1.1651tn· counted as the other side of the same trades as foreign and institutional buying in the two large-cap names, not as an independent signalProgram TradingAutomated multi-stock orders· a channel through which indexes and investor flows moveis already included in investor flows· grouped with foreign cash as one downside factorK200 futures: foreign +KRW317.0bn · institutions -KRW199.0bn· Both investor groups moved opposite to their cash positionsCash–futures basis +3.45· Excluded from directional evidence because closing times differShort SellingSelling borrowed shares → a bearish position· Turnover basis· Aug. 21 final regular-session tally· collected at 17:26 Final regular-market KOSPI KRW2.16tn · 5.4%· Prior day was an intraday collection, so no direct comparisonActual SK Hynix share-repurchase execution amount· Not disclosed at publication timeMSCI August review· effective at the Aug. 31 close
Key Flow SignalsAt the Close
Foreign Cash-KRW176.1bnTurned to selling after one day
Institutional Cash+KRW248.1bnTurned to buying after four days of selling
Samsung Electronics+KRW439.4bnNo. 1 foreign net buy· concentration 43%
Non-arbitrage-KRW837.8bnTurned to selling after one day
KOSPI Breadth21.3%Prior 57.8%
KOSDAQ Breadth16.6%Prior 61.7%
Next Confirmation Conditions
FlowsWhether foreign selling extends to a second day· Whether institutional buying extends to a second day· Whether foreign buying broadens beyond Samsung Electronics
BreadthWhether the advancer ratio recovers from roughly one in five· Whether semiconductor advancers increase from 14· Whether KOSDAQ 800 holds The question in this phase is whether the index can keep rising while breadth keeps deteriorating
Price · VariablesWhether KOSPI holds above the 6,912.95 close· Whether it falls back below the Aug. 18 close of 6,869.83· Details of Samsung Electronics shareholder returns· U.S. long yields and oil
Flows· Market Breadth Detail
Flow StructureKOSPI· Naver Finance investor-type aggregates
Retail-KRW1.1651tn
Foreign-KRW176.1bn
Institutions+KRW248.1bn
Measurement basis· Investor totals = Naver Finance· Stock-level data = KRX· Market scope differs → no cross-summing or share calculations
Foreign· Turned to selling after one day· Prior day +KRW1.7079tnreversed direction from
Institutions· Turned to buying after four days of selling· Prior day -KRW490.4bnreversed direction from
Retail· Retail sold for a second day· Prior day -KRW2.2714tnamount shrank from
Foreign cash was sold while futures were bought· signs crossed again after two days
KOSDAQ· Retail +KRW623.7bn· Foreign -KRW283.6bn· Institutions -KRW346.4bn· Retail alone moved opposite to KOSPI
Foreign investors sold KOSPI and also sold KOSDAQ· KOSDAQ retail investors were the buyers
Foreign FuturesK200 futures net-buy amount· KRX derivatives data· value basis+KRW317bn
Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders· a channel through which indexes and investor flows move(KOSPI)-KRW772.1bn
USD/KRWDomestic FX daytime-session 15:30 close· Prior KRW1,392.60· Different from the Market Average Rate series1,386.50 ▼6.10
Market BreadthAdvancer ratio· Measures breadth across advancing and declining stocks
KOSPI 193 / 904 = 21.3% Advancers 193· Limit-up 0· Unchanged 28· Decliners 683· Limit-down 0
KOSDAQ 287 / 1,731 = 16.6% Advancers 282· Limit-up 5· Unchanged 63· Decliners 1,378· Limit-down 3
Versus prior day· Advancer ratios fell in both markets· KOSPI down 36.5%p· KOSDAQ down 45.1%p
KOSPI decliners were 3.5× advancers· Prior day, advancers were 1.6× decliners
KOSDAQ advancer ratio was 4.7%p below KOSPI· Prior day, it was 3.9%p above
Index direction and breadth direction diverged
Turnover KRX data
| Market | Turnover | vs. 5-Day Average |
|---|
| KOSPI | KRW28.69tn | 101% |
| KOSDAQ | KRW5.41tn | 77% |
KOSPI turnover· 92% → 101% of 5-day average· absolute amount KRW25.79tn → KRW28.69tn
KOSDAQ turnover· held at 77%· KRW5.54tn → KRW5.41tnKOSPI increased · KOSDAQ decreased· same direction as the prior day
Short SellingSelling borrowed shares → a bearish position· Turnover basis· Aug. 21 final regular-session tally· collected at 17:26· KOSPI KRW2.16tn· or 5.4% of combined KRX+NXT turnoverFinal regular-market tally· Prior day was an intraday collection at 15:37, so no direct comparison
Short Selling· KOSDAQ KRW0.38tn· 5.9% on the same basis
No. 1 short-selling turnover: SK Hynix KRW428.5bn · 3.9%· No. 2 Samsung Electronics KRW381.0bn · 3.0%Highest ratio: KEPCO KPS 42.6%· Samil Electric 42.5%
Kakao· Short selling KRW80.3bn · 22.8%· Share price -7.5%
Flows Over the Last 5 Sessions
Flows Over the Last 5 Sessions KOSPI· Naver Finance investor-type aggregates
08.21Retail-KRW1.17tnForeign-KRW0.18tnInstitutions+KRW0.25tn
After a gap-down open, large-cap semiconductors recovered first· KOSDAQ sell-sidecar at 10:05· Later, shareholder-return reports spread while Samsung-group stocks strengthened· Institutions turned to buying
08.20Retail-KRW2.27tnForeign+KRW1.71tnInstitutions-KRW0.49tn
Foreign investors had turned to buying after one day· Most of that buying was in the two large-cap names· Institutions were still selling for a fourth day, though the amount shrank· Retail turned to selling after two days of buying
08.19Retail+KRW4.64tnForeign-KRW3.49tnInstitutions-KRW1.32tn
Foreign investors had turned to selling after five days of buying· Most of the selling was in the two large-cap names· Institutions sold for a third day· Retail bought for a second day
08.18Retail+KRW0.74tnForeign+KRW0.09tnInstitutions-KRW0.8tn
Foreign buying had extended to a fifth day· but the amount collapsed from the KRW3tn range to below KRW100bn· Institutions sold for a second day· Retail turned to buying after four days of selling
08.14Retail-KRW1.98tnForeign+KRW3.04tnInstitutions-KRW1.03tn
Foreign buying had extended to a fourth day· the largest of the four· Institutions turned to selling after five days of buying
5-session cumulative (Aug. 14–21)· Foreign +KRW1.17tn· Institutions -KRW3.39tn· Retail -KRW40bn
Foreign· Two days of buying, then a sell, a buy, and another sell· 5-session cumulative still net positive
KOSDAQ 5-session· Foreign -KRW426bn· Institutions -KRW854bn· Retail +KRW1.26tn
K200 futures 5-session· Foreign -KRW1.72tn· Institutions +KRW2.26tnCash +KRW1.17tnwindow that diverged from
Futures ·Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders· a channel through which indexes and investor flows move
Foreign FuturesK200 futures net-buy amount· KRX derivatives data· value basis
+KRW317bn
Turned to buying after two days of selling· Prior day -KRW1.2770tn· Opposite cash· KRX derivatives amount basis
Institutional Futures
-KRW199bn
Turned to selling after two days of buying· Prior day +KRW1.4970tn· Opposite foreign investors· Retail -KRW140.0bn
Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders· a channel through which indexes and investor flows move(KOSPI)
-KRW772.1bn
Arbitrage +KRW65.7bn· Non-arbitrage -KRW837.8bn· Turned to selling after one day
Cash–Futures Basis
+3.45
Cash 1,096.25· Futures 1,099.70· Sep. 2026 contract· closes differ at 15:30 / 15:45· same-time futures unavailable → excluded from directional evidence
Arbitrage and non-arbitrage split directions· They were also split the prior day
KOSDAQ Program· Arbitrage -KRW1.5bn· Non-arbitrage -KRW299.1bn· Total -KRW300.6bn· Same direction as KOSPI ·Ended three straight days of moving opposite to KOSPI
Foreign· Cash selling versus futures buying· signs crossed again after two days
Institutions· Cash +KRW248.1bn· Futures -KRW199bn· Cash and futures split for a third straight day
Basis· +3.45 versus +1.27 prior day· Dashboard classifies it as contango
Program TradingAutomated multi-stock orders· a channel through which indexes and investor flows move· Already included in investor flows → no separate addition
Net buying by investor type· Net Selling
Foreign
Net Buying
- Samsung Electronics+KRW439.4bn
- LG Electronics+KRW31.6bn
- HD Hyundai Heavy Industries+KRW31.3bn
- Hanwha Aerospace+KRW26.5bn
- Daeduck Electronics+KRW19.8bn
Net Selling
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics-KRW119.8bn
- Samsung Electronics Preferred-KRW97.4bn
- Samsung Life Insurance-KRW76.1bn
- Doosan Enerbility-KRW68.9bn
- Kakao-KRW52.3bn
Institutions
Net Buying
- Samsung Electronics+KRW368.2bn
- Samsung Electronics Preferred+KRW181.1bn
- SK Hynix+KRW111.4bn
- Samsung Life Insurance+KRW65.6bn
- SK Telecom+KRW50.2bn
Net Selling
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics-KRW117bn
- HD Hyundai Heavy Industries-KRW50.1bn
- LIG Defense & Aero-KRW50.1bn
- Kakao-KRW45.3bn
- Hanwha Aerospace-KRW38.3bn
Retail
Net Buying
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics+KRW236.7bn
- Kakao+KRW96.4bn
- Doosan Enerbility+KRW85bn
- LS ELECTRIC+KRW56.5bn
- Samsung Securities+KRW53.6bn
Net Selling
- SK Hynix-KRW1.2551tn
- Samsung Electronics-KRW743.3bn
- Samsung Electronics Preferred-KRW93.6bn
- SK Square-KRW29.4bn
- Korean Air-KRW26.1bn
Samsung Electronics alone, the No. 1 foreign net buy, accounted for 43% of all foreign net-buy stocksEven adding the next four brings the share only to 54%· Total net-buy stocks +KRW1.0249tn
Three of the top five foreign net sells were Samsung-affiliated namesSamsung Electro-Mechanics· Samsung Electronics Preferred· Samsung Life· The last two were directly opposite the top institutional net buys
Samsung Electro-Mechanics· Investor positioning matched the prior dayNo. 1 retail net buy· No. 1 net sell for both foreign and institutional investors· Share price moved from +0.65% the prior day to -5.73%today
SK Hynix alone, the No. 1 retail net sell, accounted for 50% of all retail net-sell stocksTop five accounted for 86%· up from 41% and 81% the prior day
What Comes Next
Reversal after a gap-down open· Institutions turned to buying· Only one in five stocks advanced
Dividend catalyst spreadsBoard details confirmed + institutional buying extends to a second day + foreign selling moderates → checkpoint is whether today's high of 6,954.12 is broken
Breadth fails to recoverForeign selling extends to a second day + program selling persists + U.S. long yields rise further → checkpoint is whether today's low of 6,742.44 holds
Only the two names riseThe two large-cap names hold up on shareholder-return expectations while the rest of the market is pressured· Advancer ratio stays stuck in the 20% range· KOSDAQ breaks below 800
Next checks· whether foreign buying broadens beyond Samsung Electronics + the detailed size and method of Samsung Electronics shareholder returns
Upcoming Calendar6 Events
Aug. 25 (Tue)
06:00
Korea August Consumer Sentiment Index
August Business Sentiment Index at 06:00 on Aug. 26
Aug. 26 (Wed)
NVIDIA FY2027 Q2 earnings
After the U.S. regular-session close· Revenue ConsensusThe average of brokerage estimates $91.8bn· Adjusted EPSEarnings Per Share· Net income ÷ shares outstanding· Adjusted EPS = excludes one-off gains/losses $2.08· Company guidance $91bn ±2%
Aug. 26 (Wed)
21:30
U.S. Q2 GDP second estimate· July Personal Income · Personal Consumption Expenditures
Released at the same time· Forecasts unavailable at publication time
Aug. 27 (Thu)
Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board
Current policy rate 2.75%· First meeting after the Jul. 16 hike
Aug. 27 (Thu)–29 (Sat)
Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium
Theme: financial innovation and payments· Chair Kevin Warsh's speaking schedule had not been announced at publication time
Aug. 31 (Mon)
MSCI August review takes effect
At the close· Korea inclusion: LG Innotek· Deletion: HLB· LG Display· POSCO International· Samsung Epis Holdings
Data· Earnings Benchmarks
Released overnight and today· Previous vs. Actual
| Item | Previous | Actual |
|---|
| U.S. Initial Jobless Claims (10k claims) | 20.9 | 20.6 |
| U.S. August Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index | 41.4 | 47.4 |
| U.S. July Leading Economic Index (MoM, %) | -0.2 | +0.2 |
| Korea July Producer PricesOutput-price index for goods and services supplied domestically by companies· Compiled by the Bank of Korea· Feeds into consumer prices with a lag(MoM, %) | 0.0 | -0.4 |
| Same indicator YoY (%) | +8.5 | +7.7 |
These three U.S. releases were the ones whose forecast column was left blank in the Aug. 20 reportPublic calendars disagreed and no original named-institution survey was secured, so prior readings alone were used as the benchmark
Jobless claims came in below the prior reading· Philadelphia Fed and the Leading Economic Index came in above prior readings· The same night, both the 30Y and 10Y rose 4bp
Korea July Producer PricesOutput-price index for goods and services supplied domestically by companies· Compiled by the Bank of Korea· Feeds into consumer prices with a lag· First MoM decline in 11 monthsCoal & petroleum products -5.1%· Finance & insurance -7.1%· Residential electricity -11.8% were downward contributors
The Bank of Korea said international oil prices rose about 11% MoM over Aug. 1–19 and could put upward pressure on August producer pricesSo July's decline is not used as evidence that the decline will continue into the next month
To Be Checked in Sequence· Release times in Korea Standard Time
| Name | Release | Expected |
|---|
| Korea August Consumer Sentiment Index | 8/25 | Not yet reported |
| NVIDIA FY2027 Q2 revenue ($bn) | 8/26 | 918 |
| Same quarter adjusted EPSEarnings Per Share· Net income ÷ shares outstanding· Adjusted EPS = excludes one-off gains/losses($) | 8/26 | 2.08 |
| Company guidance for same quarter ($bn) | 8/26 | 910 |
| U.S. Q2 GDP second estimate | 8/26 | Unavailable |
| U.S. July PCE inflation | 8/26 | Unavailable |
| Bank of Korea policy rate (%) | 8/27 | 2.75 |
NVIDIA's $91bn ±2% is company-issued guidance· kept separate from consensus
Forecasts for the U.S. Q2 GDP second estimate and July personal income/PCE were unavailable· to be filled after release
Samsung Electronics Q3 cash-dividend details to be decided by an end-October board meeting· Method and size of the remainder to be decided by a January 2027 board meetingBased on media reports· Original definitive disclosure not confirmed
Post-Close Variables· Market prices as of Aug. 21 17:25 KST· not final closes
Samsung Electronics board meeting· 2026 shareholder-return implementation plan approved· Reported total size KRW90–110tnAs of publication, only one outlet had reported the board result· Original definitive disclosure not confirmed
① Execution in Q3 2026· Cash dividend About KRW30tn(including regular dividend)· Details finalized at the end-October board meeting.
② Remaining amount · cash dividends, share repurchases and cancellations About KRW60–80tn· Method and size, including cash dividends and share repurchases/cancellations, to be decided at the January 2027 board meetingAfter 2026 operating results are finalized· Different from SK Hynix, where all acquired shares are cancelled
③ Treasury-share purchase for employee compensation About KRW15tn· Separate from the KRW90–110tn above and approved separately
Background to expectations for a dividend-heavy structure· Samsung Life and Samsung Fire & Marine together hold close to 10% of Samsung Electronics, so cancelling shares would mechanically raise their ownership ratio
SK Hynix actual repurchase execution amount had not been disclosed at publication time
WTI $86.49 (-1.53%)· Gold $4,621.40 (+2.33%)· in-progress price
Dollar Index 98.734 (-0.17%)· Bitcoin $77,076 (+5.54%)· in-progress price
This Week in Review· 8/18 ~ 8/21
Aug. 21 (Fri)KOSPI+0.88%KOSDAQ-4.63%Foreign-KRW0.18tn
After a gap-down open, large-cap semiconductors recovered first· KOSDAQ sell-sidecar at 10:05· The index was lifted by the two large-cap names; only one in five stocks advanced
Aug. 20 (Thu)KOSPI+5.89%KOSDAQ+1.99%Foreign+KRW1.71tn
Gap-up reflected SK Hynix's KRW40tn share-repurchase and cancellation resolution announced after the Aug. 19 close· Buy-sidecar at 09:57· Most foreign buying was concentrated in the two large-cap names· Advancers were a majority
Aug. 19 (Wed)KOSPI-5.80%KOSDAQ-1.17%Foreign-KRW3.49tn
Overnight U.S. 30Y high and SOX -4.98%was reflected in a gap-down open· Sell-sidecar at 09:06· Most foreign selling was concentrated in the two large-cap names· KOSDAQ's decline was one-fifth of KOSPI's
Aug. 18 (Tue)KOSPI-1.55%KOSDAQ-3.52%Foreign+KRW0.09tn
Rose above 7,200 intraday before giving back 427.84 points· Only one in five stocks advanced· Institutional selling in large-cap semiconductors for a second day
Four-session cumulative this week· KOSPI -0.93%Versus Aug. 14 close 6,977.94· compounded basis
Advancer ratio· 22.0% → 19.1% → 57.8% → 21.3%
Foreign KOSPI· +KRW91.4bn → -KRW3.4884tn → +KRW1.7079tn → -KRW176.1bn
No. 1 sector· Marine Transportation → Leisure Equipment & Products → Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment → Life Insurance
Sidecar· Aug. 19 KOSPI sell → Aug. 20 KOSPI buy → Aug. 21 KOSDAQ sell· Three straight days
Technical Levels· Three Indices
KOSPICurrent 6,912.95
Current
6,7426,8697,000
Support6,869.83 → 6,852.58 → 6,742.44 Aug. 18 close· Prior close· Today's Low
Resistance6,954.12 → 6,977.94 → 7,000 Today's high· Aug. 14 close· Psychological Level
43.12 points above the Aug. 18 close of 6,869.83· 64.99 points below the Aug. 14 close of 6,977.94
KOSPI200Current 1,096.25
Current
1,0501,0821,150
Support1,082.00 → 1,080.98 → 1,050 Aug. 18 close· Prior close· Psychological Level
Resistance1,098.18 → 1,100 → 1,150 Aug. 14 close· Psychological Level· Psychological Level
14.25 points above the Aug. 18 close of 1,082.00· 0.53%p above KOSPI
KOSDAQCurrent 801.94
Current
790824840
Support800 → 795.57 → 790 Psychological Level· Today's low· Psychological Level
Resistance824.05 → 834.20 → 840.89 Today's open · high· Aug. 18 close· Prior close
32.26 points below the Aug. 18 close of 834.20· Only 1.94 points above 800 at the close
One-Line Glossary
- sidecar
- If KOSPI 200 futures move at least 5% from the reference price for one minute, or if KOSDAQ 150 futures move at least 6% while the cash index moves at least 3% for one minute, program-trading orders are suspended for five minutes· Triggered on the sell side in KOSDAQ at 10:05 on Aug. 21
- Limit Up· Limit Down
- Daily price limit ±30%· Aug. 21 KOSPI limit-up 0· KOSDAQ limit-up 5· KOSDAQ limit-down 3
- Treasury buybacks
- A Treasury debt-management tool that repurchases outstanding securities· The Aug. 19 expansion announcement was intended to support liquidity in 10–30Y maturities· Different from reducing net debt or Federal Reserve QE
- CMT
- Official Treasury maturity yields based on 15:30 ET quote collection· Not the actual final transaction price
- SOX
- Philadelphia Semiconductor Index· Representative gauge of global semiconductor stocks
- S7
- A theme grouping seven large-cap semiconductor stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix
- HBM
- High Bandwidth Memory· DRAM stacked in multiple layers to increase bandwidth
- Materials, Parts & Equipment
- materials · parts · equipment· suppliers of materials and equipment to major semiconductor producers
- Producer Prices
- Output-price index for goods and services supplied domestically by companies· Compiled by the Bank of Korea· Feeds into consumer prices with a lag
- EPS
- Earnings Per Share· Net income ÷ shares outstanding· Adjusted figures exclude one-off gains/losses
- Consensus· Guidance
- Consensus = average of brokerage forecasts· Guidance = outlook issued by the company
- Short Selling
- Selling borrowed shares → a bearish position· Aug. 21 KOSPI KRW2.16tn· 5.4% of combined KRX+NXT turnover· Final regular session
- Flow Concentration
- Share of each side's aggregate stock-level net buys/sells accounted for by the top names· KRX data
- Program Trading
- Automated multi-stock orders· A channel through which indexes and investor flows move· Included in investor flows
- Arbitrage· Non-arbitrage
- Arbitrage = exploits cash–futures price differences· Non-arbitrage = index-tracking and other general program trading
- Cash–Futures Basis
- Cash closes 15:30 / futures 15:45 → not the same timestamp, so excluded from directional signals· Positive basis = contango
- USD/KRWDaytime-Session Close
- 15:30 close of the domestic FX regular daytime session· Different from the interbank Market Average Rate series· Reference USD/KRWvalue used in the report
- Base Exchange Rate
- Volume-weighted average of interbank FX transactions· Market-average-rate series· Used only for JPY/KRWper ¥100
- Sector· Theme Performance
- Sector = market-cap weighted· Theme = simple average of constituents· When values conflict, sector data take precedence
- Market-cap weighted
- Sector indexes weight constituents by market capitalization· larger stocks have more influence
- Market Breadth
- Advancer ratio· Measures breadth across advancing and declining stocks
Sources & Data Notes
- Korea Exchange (KRX) · Naver Finance KOSPI 6,912.95 (+0.88%, Aug. 21 final close) open 6,759.95 · high 6,954.12 · low 6,742.44 / KOSDAQ 801.94 (-4.63%) open 824.05 · high 824.05 · low 795.57 / KOSPI 200 1,096.25 (+1.41%, closing basis) / market breadth: KOSPI 193 up · 0 limit-up · 28 unchanged · 683 down · 0 limit-down; KOSDAQ 282 up · 5 limit-up · 63 unchanged · 1,378 down · 3 limit-down / turnover: KOSPI KRW28.69tn (101% of 5-day avg) · KOSDAQ KRW5.41tn (77%): dashboard (Naver Finance daily index data · KRX source, final close· last updated Aug. 21 15:25:51 ICT = 17:25 KST)· Breadth = (advancers + limit-ups) ÷ total including unchanged: KOSPI 193÷904 = 21.3%; KOSDAQ 287÷1,731 = 16.6%
- KOSDAQ sell-sidecar Triggered Aug. 21 at 10:05 · KOSDAQ 150 futures moved at least 6% and the cash index at least 3% for one minute: Korea Economic Daily· Sequence number for the year differed across media and was therefore excluded from the body / KOSPI turned positive about 40 minutes after the open · 6,904.13 at 09:52 (+0.75%) · driven by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix turning higher, consistent with overnight strength in U.S. memory semiconductors: Newsis
- Investor-Level Totals (Naver Finance investor-type data, Aug. 21 close) KOSPI retail -KRW1.1651tn· foreign −KRW176.1bn· institutions +KRW248.1bn / KOSDAQ Retail +KRW623.7bn· foreign -KRW283.6bn· institutions -KRW346.4bn / K200 futures foreign +KRW317bn· institutions -KRW199bn· retail -KRW140bn / 5-session cumulative (Aug. 14–21) foreign +KRW1.17tn· institutions -KRW3.39tn· retail -KRW40bn / program trading: KOSPI arbitrage +KRW65.7bn · non-arbitrage -KRW837.8bn · total -KRW772.1bn; KOSDAQ total -KRW300.6bn / basis +3.45 contango (cash 1,096.25 · futures 1,099.70 · Sep. 2026 contract)
- Stock-Level Investor Flows KRX investor trading data (entire stock market · final regular session, raw-data header Aug. 21 15:28:06 ICT = collected at 17:28 KST). Foreign net-buy stocks total +KRW1.0249tn· net-sell stocks total -KRW1.4786tn· Samsung Electronics +KRW439.4bn· SK Hynix +KRW14.4bn / institutions Samsung Electronics +KRW368.2bn· Samsung Electronics Preferred +KRW181.1bn· SK Hynix +KRW111.4bn / retail SK Hynix -KRW1.2551tn· Samsung Electronics -KRW743.3bn· Values outside the two large-cap names are residuals after net-buy and net-sell totals are combined and the two names removed: foreign -KRW907.4bn · institutions -KRW579.0bn · retail +KRW1.4537tn· Flow concentration matches the dashboard and recalculation from the raw data (foreign buy TOP1 43% · TOP5 54%, institutional buy TOP1 28% · TOP5 59%). Retail sell TOP1 50% · TOP5 86% are recalculated from the raw data.· Investor-total series (Naver) and stock-level series (KRX) cover different market scopes, so no cross-summing or share calculations: KRX Information Data System
- Final Stock Closing Prices Samsung Electronics KRW281,500 (+3.87%· market cap KRW1,645.7tn) · SK Hynix KRW1,730,000 (+2.31%· KRW1,263.8tn) · Samsung Electronics Preferred KRW207,000 (+8.26%) · SK Square KRW1,123,000 (+0.00%) · Samsung Electro-Mechanics KRW1,316,000 (−5.73%) · Hyundai Motor KRW415,000 (−0.60%) · LG Energy Solution KRW343,500 (−4.05%) · Samsung Biologics KRW1,551,000 (−1.46%) · Samsung Life KRW328,500 (+10.61%) · Samsung C&T KRW395,500 (+5.75%): dashboard top 10 by market cap (regular-session closes)
- Short Selling (KRX+NXT combined ·final regular market · collected Aug. 21 at 17:26) KOSPI KRW2.16tn · 5.4% of market turnover / KOSDAQ KRW0.38tn · 5.9% / top short-selling turnover: SK Hynix KRW428.5bn (3.9%) · Samsung Electronics KRW381.0bn (3.0%) · Kakao KRW80.3bn (22.8%) / highest ratios: KEPCO KPS 42.6% · Samil Electric 42.5%· Prior-day value was an intraday collection at 15:37· No direct comparison
- Aug. 20 U.S. market final Dow 52,759.21 (−1.32%)·S&P500 7,641.16(−0.87%) · Nasdaq 26,067.17 (−1.00%)·SOX 11,800.02(+0.53%)·VIX 16.01(+7.52%): dashboard (Yahoo Finance source)· Final closes for individual semiconductor stocks differed across sources· Not used anywhere in the body or supporting factors
- U.S. Treasury yields U.S. Treasury Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve Rates (CMT · 15:30 ET quote collection): Aug. 20 10Y 4.69% · 30Y 5.23%; Aug. 19 4.65% · 5.19%: U.S. Treasury par-yield close ·· 10Y and 30Y standardized to the same CMT series· Dashboard's ^TNX 4.696% is a market-close series and is therefore not shown
- Aug. 20 U.S. data trio Initial jobless claims 206,000 (prior 209,000) · August Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index 47.4 (prior 41.4): Topstarnews / July Leading Economic Index MoM +0.2%(prior −0.2%): investingLive· Jobless claims came in below the prior reading· Philadelphia Fed and the Leading Economic Index came in above prior readings· Forecasts were not used for the same reason as in the Aug. 20 report· Prior readings only used as the benchmark
- Samsung Electronics shareholder returns Bloomberg report (carried by Korean media on the morning of Aug. 21): KRW90–110tn scale · board meeting scheduled for the same afternoon · Samsung declined to comment: NewsPim / board-resolution report (Aug. 21 17:21) ① Q3 2026 cash dividend about KRW30tn · details at an end-October board meeting ② remaining about KRW60–80tn · method and size including cash dividends and share repurchases/cancellations at a January 2027 board meeting ③ about KRW15tn treasury-share purchase for employee compensation · separately approved from ① and ②: Single List / Background to dividend-heavy expectations (Samsung Life + Samsung Fire & Marine stakes approaching 10%): Read Economy· As of publication, only one outlet had reported the board result · original definitive disclosure not confirmed · shown only as a post-close variable and excluded from probability evidence · total-size estimates ranged from KRW100–200tn across media and brokerages, so no single figure is used in the body · Bloomberg-originated articles had already been published by Korean media during the morning, so no specific minute-level time is treated as the event's occurrence time
- Korea July PPI (Bank of Korea, Aug. 21 06:00) MoM −0.4%· index 129.92 → 129.39 · first decline in 11 months · YoY +7.7%(May +8.6% · June +8.5%) · coal & petroleum products -5.1% · finance & insurance -7.1% · residential electricity -11.8%: Alpha Economy / ZDNet Korea· The Bank of Korea said international oil prices rose about 11% MoM over Aug. 1–19 and could put upward pressure on August producer prices · prior YoY in the table was replaced with the finalized June figure of +8.5%
- FX Domestic FX daytime-session 15:30 USD/KRWclose 1,386.5 (down KRW6.1 from prior day): Asia Economy / JPY/KRWper ¥100 Market Average Rate KRW871.82 (prior KRW878.75): dashboard· The USD/KRWreference value, which had been substituted with the Market Average Rate in the Aug. 20 report, was switched back to the daytime-session close series
- Korea Customs Service preliminary exports for Aug. 1–20 Semiconductors $26.03bn · YoY +198.8%· 47.2% of total exports / total exports $55.2bn (+56.0%) · imports $41.2bn · trade surplus $14.0bn · operating days 14.0 (14.5 a year earlier): Alpha Economy· Both semiconductor value and share were the highest ever for an Aug. 1–20 period · preliminary data with a large base effect, so not read as an industry-multiple signal
- Sectors · Themes Naver Finance sector/theme performance (final close, raw-data header Aug. 21 15:25:22 ICT = collected at 17:25 KST). Of 79 sectors: 18 up · 1 unchanged · 60 down / of 219 themes: 16 up · 203 down / Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment +2.97%· of 171 stocks: 14 up · 5 unchanged · 152 down
- Drivers of the KOSDAQ decline All of the top 19 stocks by market cap declined · pharma · biotech · semiconductor materials/parts/equipment · secondary batteries led the losses: Opinion News / foreign and institutional selling deepened the decline · Alteogen· EcoPro· EcoPro BM· Jusung Engineering· ABL Bio weak: CBC News / U.S. long Treasury yields and international oil rose together; profit-taking after the prior day's gains: Korea Economic Daily· Sector/theme returns cross-checked against Naver Finance raw data · individual-stock returns are not used in the body
- Upcoming Calendar · Consensus Korea August Consumer Sentiment Aug. 25 06:00 · August Business Sentiment Aug. 26 06:00 / NVIDIA FY2027 Q2 after the Aug. 26 U.S. regular-session close (revenue consensus $91.8bn · adjusted EPS $2.08 · company guidance $91bn ±2%) / U.S. Q2 GDP second estimate · July personal income · personal consumption expenditures Aug. 26 21:30 / Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board Aug. 27 / Jackson Hole Symposium Aug. 27–29 / MSCI August review effective at the Aug. 31 close· Forecasts for the U.S. Q2 GDP second estimate and July PCE inflation were unavailable· Forecast column also left unavailable
Disclaimer: This material is for reference in analyzing market structure and organizing decision inputs; it is not a recommendation to buy or sell any specific financial product.
