DAILY MARKET NOTE / 23 SEP 2026

Below the Open,
Two Days Running

KOSPI +0.90%at 7,080.92 · fourth straight gain · KOSDAQ +1.21%The 7,153.99 open was also the day's high · slipped below the previous close in the morning before rebounding in the afternoon311 advancers vs 548 decliners · the index rose, but the advancer ratio was only 34.0%Individuals and foreigners sold nearly KRW 2tn; Other Corporations in the KRW 1.6tn range and institutions took the other side · final session before the Chuseok closure

The index and the stocks split directions again.

MARKET PATH / 01

The Open Was the High · The Morning Gave Back the Gap, the Afternoon Recovered Half

When the direction changed, and what was at work

KOSPI · 09:00~15:30Opened at 7,153.99 (day's high) → 11:30 low at 7,014.98 → closed at 7,080.92

OPEN7,153.99+1.94%

LOW7,014.98-0.04%

HIGH7,153.99+1.94%

CLOSE7,080.92+0.90%

THE READ

The 7,153.99 open was also the day's high · no new high was made above the opening printOpening Of the 136.08-point gap, about 46% remained at the close · far more than the previous session (about 7%), but the direction was the sameThe morning fell below the previous close (7,014.98 at 11:30), then recovered gradually in the afternoon · closed 65.94 points above the low

OPEN · MORNING

Opened 1.94% higher, then immediately gave ground

Opened at 7,153.99, 136.08 points above the previous close · that was the day's highAside from one rebound around 10:20, the market moved lower all morning · fell into the 7,030 area during the 11 o'clock hourThe day's low was 7,014.98 at 11:30, 2.93 points below the previous close · the opening gap had been fully erased

AFTERNOON

The afternoon was a steady, one-way rebound

Built a floor around 7,030 near noon, then recovered the 7,050 area during the 13:00 hourDuring the 14:00 hour, trading stayed narrow around 7,050 · unlike the morning, there was no fresh turn in directionKOSDAQ +1.21%rose more than KOSPI, and its advancer ratio was broader at 49.4%

Gains widened in the final 30 minutes

Rose again after 15:00 to close at 7,080.92 · 65.94 points above the lowThe close was 73.07 points below the open · second straight session closing below the openKOSPI turnover KRW 20.8507tn · 1.14× the five-session average, above normal

Path read from the KRX regular-session KOSPI 5-minute chart · horizontal positions reflect actual times · line vertices are readings from the 5-minute chart, while only the open, high, low and close are confirmed final values · the day's high was the 09:00 open and the day's low was the 11:30 bar.

WHY / 02

U.S. Semiconductors Rose Again Overnight, and Chips Led the Index at Home

Confirmed drivers behind the opening jump and the intraday giveback

U.S. chip shares rose for a second day as Micron rallied, and Korea opened with a gap

Sep 22, local time +2.06% · Micron about 5%Dow -0.36% · S&P 500 flat · Nasdaq +0.45%(second straight record close), with semiconductors the standoutKorea followed the same pattern · Samsung Electronics +3.25% · Samsung Electronics Pref. +4.02% · SK Square +5.03% · SK hynix +1.20%Semiconductors led the top end of the index · Medical & Precision Instruments and Chemicals also rose, but decliners far outnumbered advancers

+2.06%PHLX Semiconductor Index · Sep 22, local time

VIEW EVIDENCE

U.S. session, Sep 22 local time · Nasdaq 27,244.28 +0.45% · S&P 500 7,764.64 flat · Dow 51,863.80 -0.36%

Oil fell below $100 amid reports of U.S.-Iran talks · Brent -1.1% · WTI -1.2%

Pre-holiday caution and profit-taking were cited in closing reports as factors that trimmed gains · but the scale of intraday selling is hard to explain by the holiday alone

MONEY / 03

Institutions and Other Corporations Absorbed Selling by Individuals and Foreigners

Who moved the index today

OTHER CORP · KOSPI CASH

+KRW 1.6323tn

Largest buyer among the four investor groups · are domestic corporations outside the individual, foreign and institutional categories · institutions +KRW 316.9bnof additional buying stood against nearly KRW 2tn of selling by individuals and foreignersSamsung Electronics and SK hynix are conducting share buybacks, which are counted under Other Corporations · the buyback portion of the amount is not separately disclosedForeigners were net sellers overall, but their biggest buy was Samsung Electronics and their biggest sell was SK hynix · the same rotation seen on Sep 21

Top foreign net buySamsung Electronics

Top foreign net sellSK hynix

FLOW DETAILS

Four investor groups · Other Corporations +KRW 1.6323tn · Institutions +KRW 316.9bn · Foreigners -KRW 504.7bn · Individuals -KRW 1.4396tn · 15:30 regular-session closing tally from the same article · Other Foreigners are classified separately, so these four figures are not summed into a market total

KOSPI 200 Foreigners+KRW 388.0bn

KOSPI 200 Futures · Institutions-KRW 400.0bn

Program · Non-arbitrage-KRW 799.6bn

Program · Arbitrage+KRW 80.0bn

Cross-check against the KRX 15:38 tally · Institutions +KRW 317.0bn and Individuals -KRW 1.4400tn match · Foreigners are shown at -KRW 510.0bn including Other Foreigners (KRW 1bn units) · the difference from -KRW 504.7bn above is the Other Foreigners portion
Foreigners sold the cash market but bought futures · cash and futures are different markets, so neither is used as proof of the other
Program trading total -KRW 719.6bn · non-arbitrage flows were net selling even on an up day
Stock-level flows show rank and direction only · top foreign net buys: Samsung Electronics · Samsung Electronics Pref. · SK Innovation / top net sells: SK hynix · Doosan Enerbility · Samsung Electro-Mechanics
Top institutional net buys: Samsung Electronics · SK hynix · SK Square / top net sells: NAVER · Doosan Enerbility · Hyundai E&C
Top individual net sells: Samsung Electronics · SK hynix · Samsung Electronics Pref. / top net buys: Doosan Enerbility · NAVER · Daewoo E&C · Hyundai Motor
September backdrop · reports put the 15-session cumulative total from Sep 1-21 at Other Corporations +KRW 23.1881tn · Institutions +KRW 5.9079tn · Foreigners -KRW 12.8137tn · Individuals -KRW 16.2822tn · this is a different period from today alone
KOSDAQ by investor group · Individuals +KRW 32.0bn · Institutions +KRW 6.0bn net buying · Foreigners -KRW 49.0bn net selling (KRX 15:38 tally · KRW 1bn units)

SECTOR / 04

Where Strength Was · Where Weakness Was

Today's distribution of strength, not a ranking table

Strength in Medical & Precision Instruments and Electrical & Electronics; weakness in Construction and Machinery · some defense names also fell.Largest decline: Construction -5.66% · largest gain: Medical & Precision Instruments +3.36% · the downside move was largerNo common confirmed catalyst was found for the sharp declines in Construction and Machinery

STRONG

Medical & Precision InstrumentsKOSPI sector+3.36%

Electrical & ElectronicsKOSPI sector+1.95%

ChemicalsKOSPI sector+1.28%

SK SquareStock+5.03%

WEAK

ConstructionKOSPI sector-5.66%

Machinery & EquipmentKOSPI sector-3.22%

IT ServicesKOSPI sector-2.40%

Doosan EnerbilityStock-5.55%

Sectors use KOSPI · stocks use individual closing-price returns · because the calculation methods differ, they are not ranked together

SECTOR EVIDENCE

Six of the top 10 stocks by market cap rose · SK Square +5.03% · Samsung Electronics Pref. +4.02% · Samsung Electronics +3.25% (KRW 285,500) · Samsung Electro-Mechanics +1.41% · SK hynix +1.20% (KRW 1,862,000) · LG Energy Solution +0.29% · Samsung C&T flat · KB Financial Group -1.42% · Samsung Biologics -1.80% · Hyundai Motor -1.94%
Weak stocks · Doosan Enerbility -5.55% · Hanwha Aerospace -3.41% · Hyundai Steel -10.25%
Advance/decline counts · KOSPI limit-up 0 · advancers 311 · unchanged 55 · decliners 548 · limit-down 0 · KOSDAQ limit-up 4 · advancers 856 · unchanged 94 · decliners 786 · limit-down 0
· KOSPI 34.0% (311/914) · KOSDAQ 49.4% (860/1,740) · numerator is advancers plus limit-up stocks; denominator includes limit-up, advancers, unchanged, decliners and limit-down stocks
Sector returns are market-cap-weighted indices, not sector net-inflow amounts

CHANGE / 05

Answers to the Questions from the Previous Session

Checking yesterday's conditions against today's close

LAST SESSION → TODAY

Price condition: no · breadth condition: no · flow condition: yes · institutions returned to net buying, but the market again closed below the openThe advancer ratio narrowed again in one day from 41.9% to 34.0% · back near Sep 21's 33.9%

Close vs Open

-143.70p vs open

→

-73.07p

Institutional KOSPI Net Buy/Sell

-KRW 119.1bn

→

+KRW 316.9bn

KOSPI Advancer Ratio

41.9%

→

34.0%

NEXT / 06

What to Check Next Session

Conditions that can actually be scored, not probabilities

Does the reopening session close above its open?

Sep 22 and 23 both closed below the open · score it with just the Sep 28 open and close · the open will absorb U.S. market developments accumulated over the holiday, so read it together with the size of the gap

Do foreigners return to net buying in KOSPI cash?

Today -KRW 504.7bn · also net sellers by more than KRW 12tn over the 15 sessions from Sep 1-21 · score it by the sign on the reopening day

Does the advancer ratio move back above 40%?

Today 34.0% · currently moving above and below 40% · score it with the reopening day alone

US SESSION · 9/23

9/23
22:30

U.S. market opens

Before Korea reopens, U.S. markets trade three times: Sep 23, 24 and 25 local time

NEXT SESSION · 9/28

9/28
09:00

Korean market reopens

First session after the Chuseok closure (Sep 24-25) · also the last trading day to secure Samsung Electronics dividend rights

Overseas calendar during the closure · 9/24-9/28

LOCAL
9/24

U.S.-China summit

President Xi Jinping visits Washington · extension of the trade truce due to expire in November · AI · Taiwan among issues cited on the agenda · during Korea's market closure

9/24
21:30

U.S. Q2 International Transactions · International Investment Position

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis release · Sep 24, 08:30 local time

9/24~9/25

Korean market closed for Chuseok

U.S. markets remain open · developments during the closure will be reflected together in the Sep 28 open

9/28

Last trading day for Samsung Electronics dividend rights

Ex-dividend Sep 29 · record date Sep 30 · planned Q3 cash dividend about KRW 30tn · final amount to be approved by the board in late October

The index rose for a fourth straight session. Only one in three stocks rose as the market headed into the holiday.

SOURCES · DATA BASIS

As of 2026.09.23 · index, sector and individual-stock closes are based on the KRX regular session, 09:00-15:30
Cutoff for overseas news and indicators · Sep 23, 20:00 KST
Domestic investor flows · 15:30 regular-session closing tally from news reports · KRX final trading data for the day available after 20:00
Indices · KOSPI open 7,153.99 · high 7,153.99 · low 7,014.98 · close 7,080.92 · KOSDAQ open 841.73 · high 847.35 · low 835.46 · close 844.48 · confirmed regular-session closes (internally collected)
Intraday chart · path read from the KRX regular-session KOSPI 5-minute chart; horizontal positions reflect actual times · only the four confirmed OHLC values are treated as final; other intervals are stated only as ranges
Investor totals · KOSPI Other Corporations +KRW 1.6323tn · Institutions +KRW 316.9bn · Foreigners -KRW 504.7bn · Individuals -KRW 1.4396tn · uses the 15:30 regular-session closing tally from one article that reported all four groups together · Other Foreigners are a separate category, so the four figures are not summed into a market total · no mixing with other media tallies · cross-checked against the KRX 15:38 tally (Institutions +KRW 317.0bn · Foreigners total -KRW 510.0bn · Individuals -KRW 1.4400tn · KRW 1bn units): institutions and individuals match; the foreign-side difference is the Other Foreigners portion · KOSDAQ investor figures use the KRX 15:38 tally
September cumulative · for the 15 sessions from Sep 1-21, Other Corporations +KRW 23.1881tn · Institutions +KRW 5.9079tn · Foreigners -KRW 12.8137tn · Individuals -KRW 16.2822tn, cited from Sep 23 reporting · a different period from today alone
Stock-level flows · KRX investor trading by stock · rank and direction only
Turnover · KOSPI KRW 20.8507tn · 1.14× the recent five-session average of KRW 18.2117tn · KRX 15:38 tally
Futures · program trading · KOSPI 200 futures by investor finalized at 15:49 · program trading finalized at 15:37
Market breadth · KRX advance/decline counts finalized at 17:46 · limit-up stocks are counted separately from advancers
Sectors · KOSPI Sector Index closing returns cited from reporting · stock returns use regular-session closes
Previous Korean session · Sep 22 open 7,161.61 · close 7,017.91 · Institutions -KRW 119.1bn · advancer ratio 41.9% from the Sep 22 issue · Sep 22 high 7,171.44 was above the open
Overseas · Nasdaq 27,244.28 · S&P 500 7,764.64 · Dow 51,863.80 are Sep 22 local closes · PHLX Semiconductor Index +2.06%, Micron move, and Brent/WTI declines are cited from reporting
Company · Samsung Electronics planned Q3 cash dividend of about KRW 30tn and Sep 30 record date are company disclosures · final amount to be set by the board in late October
Calendar · Korean market closed for Chuseok Sep 24-25 · reopens Sep 28 · U.S.-China summit and U.S. Q2 international-transactions schedule based on reporting and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis release calendar