MONEY RADAR
—
MARKET BRIEFING · KOREA

The KOSPI gave up the 7,000 level, yet more KOSPI stocks rose than fell: only the large caps were sold.

October 6, 2026 · Read the Korean original

Major indices

  • KOSPI 6,941.39 -0.89%
  • KOSDAQ 919.92 +2.98%

By the index alone this was the day the KOSPI lost the 7,000 level, but what actually fell was the large caps holding the index up. While the KOSPI closed 0.89% lower at 6941.39, 462 KOSPI stocks advanced against 413 that declined, so risers were in fact the majority, and the KOSDAQ closed 2.98% higher at 919.92 with 1,103 advancers against 565 decliners. Across the KOSPI and the KOSDAQ combined, only 6 stocks set 252-session highs and 4 set new lows, so this was not a day with a one-sided trend.

By industry, robotics, EV battery materials and semiconductor equipment pulled the market while defense, shipping and logistics, and shipbuilding lagged. The split between the index and the advance-decline count also came from money rotating into small and mid-cap materials and equipment names while the heavily weighted semiconductor large caps were sold. Within semiconductors the flow concentrated in equipment, lifting JUSUNG ENGINEERING by 17.51%, and ISU SPECIALTY CHEMICAL, where renewed expectations for its lithium sulfide plant for solid-state batteries came back into focus, added another 3.82%. Defense, which had run steeply of late, was pressed by profit-taking with no clear negative news. Industry moves and individual names are set out below under industry watchlist.

Macro indicators pushed hard in neither direction. The won closed at 1,358.5 per dollar, 1.1 won stronger, and the three-year Korean treasury yield fell 0.4bp to 3.933% while the ten-year rose 0.4bp to 4.369%, leaving the short and long ends pointing different ways. As of October 2, US treasuries stood at 4.83% for the two-year and 5.28% for the ten-year, up 5bp and 4bp respectively, while WTI as of September 29 was down 3.23% at 96.16 dollars a barrel and gold fell 0.35% to 4,132.94 dollars an ounce. On market funding we made no judgment, since investor deposits and credit financing balances were empty in this context; only overseas stock settlement as of October 5 was available, with 710.8 million dollars bought against 855.2 million dollars sold, a net 144.4 million dollars of selling.

Overnight strength in US technology shares flowed into small and mid-cap growth names rather than into the index. Blockmedia and Shinailbo reported that foreign investors sold roughly 1.7 trillion won on the KOSPI, breaking the 7,000 level, while according to SEN Money foreign investors bought 109.4 billion won and institutions 100.2 billion won on the KOSDAQ the same day. On this site's own chain scores semiconductors led, with the OSAT and packaging node scoring highest at 94.67, and among ETFs the EV battery materials funds rose in the 7% range. The best one-day performer was TIGER Latin 35, an overseas-exposure fund unrelated to domestic flows. In biotech, as reported by Seoul Shinmun and Etoday, the FDA inspection of HLB's manufacturing site for its liver cancer drug closed with a voluntary action indicated recommendation.

Separating what is confirmed from what is estimated: the index closes and percentage moves were verified at the same values across several closing reports, and the advance-decline counts, industry average moves and individual stock moves are figures this site calculates directly from daily prices for every listed name. Release lags mean the macro numbers are as of October 2 for US treasuries, September 29 for oil and October 5 for overseas stock settlement. The reasons given for gains in semiconductor equipment, EV battery materials and robotics rest on press accounts of order expectations and valuation appeal rather than disclosures, so they appear better left as estimates. The weakness in defense remains unclear with no confirmed negative news.

Watchlist stocks by industry

Robotics & automation +5.97% · 5 of 5 up

EV batteries +5.53% · 12 of 13 up

Semiconductors +3.27% · 35 of 42 up

Bio & healthcare +2.60% · 29 of 34 up

  • HLB +17.18% · Seen as reducing approval uncertainty after the FDA inspection of its liver cancer drug plant closed with a voluntary action indicated recommendation (이투데이)
  • D&D Pharmatech +10.58%
  • Oscotec +6.97%

Steel & metals +2.18% · 10 of 14 up

Defense -2.06% · 4 of 13 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.

← All articles