On the 29th, the closing price of the stock exchange rate is displayed in the dealing room of Hana Bank’s main branch in Myeong-dong, Seoul. [김호영 기자]The KOSPI recorded a bear market for five days in a row on concerns about the spread of a novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) mutant ‘Omicron’. Although some of the declines were reduced due to the rise in U.S. index futures during the day, institutions reduced their buying power in the afternoon and the decline widened again.
On the 29th, the KOSPI closed at 2909.32, down 27.12 points (0.92%) from the previous day.
The KOSPI closed down for five consecutive trading days from the 23rd to this day. During this period, the KOSPI fell 3.49%. The KOSPI, which had been pushed to the 2800 level at the beginning of the day, barely managed to keep the 2900 level.
Investor sentiment worsened as concerns about the global spread of Omicron, which first appeared in South Africa, grew. According to AP, Reuters and BBC, Omicron was reported in South Africa and other African countries earlier this month and has spread to at least 12 countries including Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Czech Republic, Australia, Hong Kong and Israel by the 28th. The World Health Organization (WHO) immediately classified Omicron as a ‘variant of concern’. It has surpassed the stage of ‘interest mutation’ due to the unusual spread of microns.
“Preliminary evidence suggests that this mutation carries a large number of mutations,” the WHO said.
In addition, the WHO predicted that it would take several days to several weeks to determine the severity of the symptoms, stating that there is currently no information to suggest that the symptoms of Omicron are different from other mutations.
As a result, countries around the world, including the United States and the European Union, are preemptively re-locking the bar. Japan also banned the entry of new foreigners, including South Korea, in principle on the same day.
Omicron is known to have 32 mutations in the spike protein. This is why it is emerging as a stronger mutation than the delta mutation with 16 mutations.
On the 26th (local time), major indices on the New York Stock Exchange also fell sharply. The Dow fell 2.53%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also fell 2.27% and 2.23%, respectively. The Dow recorded the biggest decline since October 28 (3.43%) last year, and the S&P 500 index is the biggest decline since February 25 (2.45%).
Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, “All 11 sectors of the S&P 500 recorded weekly declines.” In addition, as the Omicron issue emerged in the second half of the week, international oil prices fell by more than 13%, leading the bear market in energy and materials.”
By industry, banking showed a 1% gain, while transportation equipment, distribution, electricity and gas, and construction fell by 2%.
Individuals alone net sold 755.6 billion won by trading entity, while foreigners and institutional investors net bought 44.5 billion won and 714.8 billion won, respectively. Program trading showed the advantage of buying 252.4 billion won.
Stocks with the highest market caps generally declined, with the exception of SK Hynix, Samsung Biologics, and Kakao Bank. Hyundai Motor and POSCO plunged 2%, while Kakao, LG Chem, and Kia showed a 1% decline. Samsung Electronics recorded the same. On the other hand, Kakao Bank showed a 3% gain.
On the day, 78 stocks rose and 831 stocks fell.
The KOSDAQ closed at 992.34, down 13.55 points (1.35%) from the previous day. It is the first time in 11 trading days since the 11th that the KOSDAQ gave up a thousand SDAQ.
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