Asian markets track Wall Street pullback; KOSPI pauses after 12-day rally

Graphics by AJP Song Ji-yoon

SEOUL, January 20 (AJP) — Asian markets moved lower on Tuesday, tracking an overnight retreat on Wall Street, with South Korea’s KOSPI taking a breather after a 12-day uninterrupted rally.

As of 11:20 a.m., the benchmark KOSPI was down 0.61 percent at 4,874.83, pulling back after touching an intraday record high of 4,923.53 earlier in the session. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ bucked the trend, rising 0.45 percent to 971.48.

Retail investors absorbed selling pressure from institutions and foreigners. Individuals bought a net 646.7 billion won ($438 million), while institutions and foreign investors sold a net 279.4 billion won and 409.4 billion won, respectively.

Most large-cap stocks traded lower. Samsung Electronics fell 2.8 percent to 145,000 won, while SK hynix dropped 3 percent to 741,000 won. Samsung Biologics slipped 0.26 percent to 1,916,000 won. In contrast, Samsung Life Insurance rose 3.71 percent to 173,200 won, and LG Energy Solution gained 1.76 percent to 405,500 won.

Hyundai Motor briefly topped a market capitalization of 100 trillion won at the open but later edged lower on profit-taking, trading down 0.83 percent at 476,000 won as of 10 a.m. Kia declined 2.12 percent to 165,900 won.

Robot-related shares extended gains in early trade. Doosan Robotics jumped 7.06 percent, or 7,600 won, to 115,300 won, while Hyundai Movex advanced 5.15 percent to 36,750 won.

Defense and aerospace stocks also traded higher, with Hanwha Aerospace up 0.75 percent at 1.34 million won. Shipbuilding and heavy industry names moved lower, as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 2.78 percent to 630,000 won and Hanwha Ocean declined 1.21 percent to 147,000 won.

In the currency market, the won weakened, with the dollar trading at 1,476.80 won, up 2.30 won from the previous session.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.76 percent to 53,174.78 after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house and called a snap election.
Ryu Yuna Reporter Julia37@ajupress.com

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