On the indexes alone, KOSPI slipped 0.27% to 6870.81 and KOSDAQ rose 0.38% to 849.80, an unremarkable day with the two markets pointing in different directions, but the breadth underneath looked very different. On KOSPI, 605 stocks fell while 271 rose, and on KOSDAQ 957 fell against 695 that rose, so the strength that lifted KOSDAQ came from a small group of stocks rather than the whole market. Across KOSPI and KOSDAQ combined there were 6 new 252-session highs against 16 new lows, meaning more stocks sat near their lows than the resilient indexes suggested.
The gap between the indexes and the stock counts comes from how concentrated the gains were. Among the industries we track, semiconductors rose 4.67% on average with 39 of 42 stocks higher, while the next strongest, cosmetics, gained only 0.5% on average with 6 of 12 higher, and each of the remaining eighteen industries averaged a decline. EV batteries fell 3.39% on average with only 1 of 13 stocks up, and nuclear power (9 stocks) and shipbuilding (15 stocks) had no gainers at all, falling 3.03% and 2.53% on average, so outside semiconductors selling clearly dominated.
The concentration is even clearer in individual stocks. DB HiTek rose 9.99% on an estimated closing-price-based trading value of 142.9 billion won, the largest among the day's standout stocks, while Nepes Ark gained 11.68% and STI 9.11%, so back-end processing and equipment names moved together. Etoday cited an improved second-half earnings outlook on 8-inch foundry conditions and price increases as the backdrop for DB HiTek's strength. On the other side, SK Innovation fell 7.77% on an estimated trading value of 104.9 billion won and petrochemical peer Hyosung TNC dropped 8.74%, and JKN reported that SK Innovation's slide came despite a subsidiary contract disclosure, with no clear negative catalyst identified.
In macro, the exchange rate moved the most. The won weakened 0.59% to 1,360.0 per US dollar, up 8.0 won from the previous day, a direction that weighs on foreign flows, while domestic yields actually fell, with the 3-year Korean government bond at 4.076%, down 4.3bp, and the 10-year at 4.476%, down 6.3bp. US figures are as of September 25 because of publication lags, with the 10-year Treasury at 5.17%, down 1.0bp, and the 2-year at 4.81%, down 6.0bp. Gold fell 0.56% to $4,134.91 and silver fell 1.18% to $60.84, while the latest WTI reading is $96.41 as of September 22.
On market funds, this data set did not include investor deposits or margin lending, so those two gauges could not be checked. What is available is overseas-stock settlement: as of September 28, buy settlement was $555.8 million, down $711.4 million from $1,267.1 million the previous day, while sell settlement was little changed at $521.2 million, leaving net settlement at only $34.6 million. Money heading overseas roughly halved in a single day, but this is one day of data and too early to read as a trend.
Behind this was interest-rate pressure in the US market the previous day. Money Today reported that on September 28 the Dow fell 0.67%, the S&P 500 0.77% and the Nasdaq 0.92%, with all three indexes lower on rising oil prices and yields, and Global Economic said the US 10-year Treasury yield briefly topped 5.23% and pressed on tech stocks. Asia Economy also reported that foreigners net sold more than 2.9 trillion won in Korea, so the picture appears to be a market where a weaker won and foreign selling weighed on the index while semiconductor materials, parts and equipment moved on their own.
So where did the money go? The answer is semiconductors. By our industry measure, semiconductors had the most stocks flagged as leaders at 8, with the OSAT and packaging segment the strongest at 94.51 points, and among ETFs SOL Semiconductor Front-End rose 5.86% and KODEX AI Semiconductor Core Equipment rose 5.30%, showing money concentrated in front-end processes and equipment. The stock that stood out on relative strength, however, was Lunit in bio, which rose 1.11% to 11,800 won while its industry averaged a 1.11% decline. That looks more like a pause after the previous day's 18.96% surge, and it came alongside a September 28 disclosure of an early acquisition of its first convertible bonds ahead of maturity.
Separating what is confirmed from what is inferred: the index moves, gainer and decliner counts, industry averages, standout-stock moves, macro indicators and overseas-stock settlement figures are values this site collected or calculated itself, and Lunit's early convertible bond acquisition is a fact confirmed by a filing. By contrast, the expectation of higher foundry prices at DB HiTek and the explanation that US yields and foreign selling weighed on the domestic index rest on press reports, and the sharp falls at SK Innovation and Hyosung TNC have no confirmed negative catalyst, so their cause remains unclear. It also seems too early to say whether semiconductors rising while everything else fell is a one-day rotation or the start of a shift in flows.
Sources (Korean-language)
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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.