MONEY RADAR
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MARKET BRIEFING · KOREA

The KOSPI reclaimed the 7,000 line, but the lift came from EV batteries and defense rather than semiconductors.

October 2, 2026 · Read the Korean original

Major indices

  • KOSPI 7,003.74 +0.46%
  • KOSDAQ 893.29 -0.11%

Judging by the index alone this looked like a rebound, but it was really a day when the KOSPI and the KOSDAQ split in opposite directions. The KOSPI reclaimed the 7,000 line for the first time in five sessions as institutions bought late in the day, while the KOSDAQ ended a five-session winning streak. Advance-decline counts are published with a one-day lag, so only the October 1 figures are available: on that day the KOSDAQ rose far more broadly, with 1,273 names up and 381 down against 556 up and 326 down on the KOSPI. Even so, only 7 names set 252-session highs against 11 at new lows, so the advance was wide but still shallow.

The lift in the KOSPI came from materials and heavy industry rather than from index heavyweights. EV batteries, defense and petrochemicals rose as whole industries, while almost every cosmetics and bio name fell and semiconductors, the largest group by market value, sat near the bottom. The KOSDAQ's decline appears to owe mostly to bio and small-cap semiconductor names falling at the same time. Industry moves and the names behind them are set out under “Watchlist stocks by industry” below.

Among macro indicators, the currency and the bond market told different stories. The won was recorded at 1,359.6 per dollar, 3.9 won weaker than the previous day, while the three-year government bond yield fell 7.3 basis points to 3.937% and the ten-year fell 7.1 basis points to 4.365%, leaving bonds firmer. Commodity data lags further still, reflecting only the September 29 WTI level of 96.16 dollars, so the oil rebound that explains the strength in refiners on this day is not yet in our data. On market cash, investor deposits and credit-financed buying are empty as of October 1, so we draw no conclusion about domestic cash on the sidelines; only settlement of overseas stock purchases was confirmed, at less than half the previous session's level.

Behind this divergence, a data release still a day away mattered more than the prior night on Wall Street. Money Today and Infostock Daily reported that Korean shares opened weak on caution ahead of the US September employment report and turned higher in the afternoon as institutional buying came in; institutions bought a net 381.4 billion won while individuals sold a net 1.7206 trillion won. Where money settled in was different again from the best-performing industries. Semiconductors ranked near the bottom on average change, yet with 7 names rated LEADING on alignment and signal criteria it was still the industry with the most, and in ETFs aerospace and defense led, with SOL Aerospace Value Chain up 6.14%. Korea Circuit, in the semiconductor substrate node, rose 4.30%, extending a run of four large gains built up since September 23.

A note on how far each item is confirmed. Index moves, trading by investor type, industry and single-name changes, and yield and commodity levels are confirmed by stored data and by multiple media reports, but the advance-decline counts and overseas settlement data are as of October 1 and oil prices as of September 29. The won is recorded in our data as 3.9 won weaker, while many outlets reported it closing 7.8 won stronger at 1,350.6, so the direction of the currency is best not read as settled. Reading the surge in EV batteries as crowded order flow, and KOSDAQ weakness as driven by bio and small-cap semiconductor names, are press reporting and our own estimates, and the reasons for the sharp falls at April Biotherapeutics and Kolmar Korea could not be confirmed in this round of searching.

Watchlist stocks by industry

EV batteries +5.15% · 13 of 13 up

Defense +4.20% · 12 of 13 up

Chemicals & refining +2.86% · 18 of 20 up

Semiconductors -1.12% · 14 of 42 up

Bio & healthcare -2.39% · 2 of 34 up

Cosmetics & beauty -2.40% · 0 of 12 up

Sources (Korean-language)

This market briefing was compiled by AI from this site's own price and filing data together with public news reports, and translated from the Korean original. Please check the sources below before relying on it.

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