MONEY RADAR
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MARKET BRIEFING · KOREA

Samsung Electronics posted record earnings and still pulled the index down, while money moved into banks and brokerages.

October 29, 2026 · Read the Korean original

Major indices

  • KOSPI 5,937.66 -1.24%
  • KOSDAQ 753.23 -2.34%

What stands out more than the index giving back the 6,000 line after a single day is how many stocks fell. The KOSPI closed 1.24% lower at 5,937.66 with 274 gainers against 602 decliners, while the KOSDAQ fell harder, ending down 2.34% at 753.23 with 408 advancing and 1,261 declining. Across both markets only 4 stocks set a 252-session high, against 66 at new lows.

By industry, only one group finished higher. Financial services held onto a gain with 18 of its 20 stocks up, while the themes that carried the index this year, hydrogen, EV batteries, power grid, robotics and shipbuilding, all slid 4% to 5%. Stocks hurt more than the index not because of a handful of large caps but because that whole group of themes dropped together. Daewoo E&C plunged 18.57% on news that negotiations over the Czech nuclear construction contract had ended, dragging construction and nuclear power down with it, and Samsung Electronics closed lower despite reporting record earnings, splitting the direction of the semiconductor group. Industry moves and individual names are laid out below under Sector Movers.

Money leaving equities stepped aside into bonds and idle cash. The 3-year government bond yield fell 3.3 basis points to 3.766% and the 10-year fell 2.7 basis points to 4.081%, while the won/dollar rate sat at 1,336.3, 12 won above the previous observation. Most of that rise came in the prior session, however, and Yonhap Infomax reported the rate closed in the mid-1,330s on the 29th. Investor deposits stood at 90.1030 trillion won as of October 27, up 1.4204 trillion won from the previous observation, while credit financing balances on the same date fell 430.6 billion won to 29.6372 trillion won, meaning borrowed money actually left. Program trading also diverged, with net buying of 139.2 billion won on the KOSPI against net selling of 175.2 billion won on the KOSDAQ.

The Federal Reserve's decision to hold its policy rate showed up in today's Korean market as a choice between industries rather than as index direction. Samsung Electronics reported record third-quarter operating profit of about 107 trillion won yet fell more than 4%, which Hankyoreh attributed to the view that, unlike SK hynix which had detailed a buyback plan the day before, it offered nothing new on shareholder returns. Maeil Business Newspaper saw Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's termination of construction contract talks with the Daewoo E&C and Doosan Enerbility consortium for the Czech Dukovany project as the direct cause of the slide in nuclear names. Where that money went was financials. WON Mega IB & Financial Holdings rose 2.73% to be the strongest ETF of the day, and Meritz Financial Group and Hana Financial Group gained 6.40% and 3.82%. The industry leading on trend score is still semiconductor materials and consumables, so the day's returns and the underlying trend point in different directions, and on the KOSDAQ the medical artificial intelligence name Lunit rose 4.10%, moving against the market.

To separate what is settled from what is inferred: index and stock returns, advance and decline counts, and the rate, currency and fund figures are tallied or disclosed values. Reading Samsung Electronics' drop as disappointment over shareholder returns, and the strength in financials as the alternative chosen instead, is press and brokerage assessment and therefore an estimate. Investor deposits, credit financing, oil and US Treasury yields are all as of October 27, so they do not reflect today's session. The daily change in the won can look different depending on when it is measured, so it may be safer to read only the level.

Watchlist stocks by industry

Financial services +1.99% · 18 of 20 up

Bio & healthcare -0.62% · 9 of 34 up

Construction & infrastructure -2.20% · 5 of 17 up

EV batteries -4.66% · 1 of 13 up

Chemicals & refining -1.60% · 6 of 21 up

Shipbuilding -4.31% · 0 of 15 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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