4 out of 10 Kospi stocks left out of bullish trend

Despite the record-setting bull run on South Korea’s main bourse, 4 out of 10 stocks there fell, data from the Korea Exchange showed Sunday.

The KRX said 302 stocks out of 750 listed on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell as of Thursday compared to Dec. 29, accounting for 40.3 percent.

The Kospi rose 13.32 percent over the cited period, from 2,026.46 to 2,296.37.

As for the listed firms of both the first-tier and second-tier stock markets, 890 stocks out of 1,973, accounting for 45.1 percent, climbed down during the cited 4 1/2 months.

Analysts pointed to how “a few” stocks had pushed the market upward, leaving out small stocks from benefiting from the push.

“Small-market cap stocks are still isolated in the market, as a few market giants are leading the rise,” said Lim Sang-guk of KB Securities.

The earlier data by the KRX indicated the 10 stocks with strongest individual buying dropped 0.1 percent for a month until Friday. Meanwhile, foreign investors and institutional investors reaped profits of 14.1 percent and 13.8 percent on 10 most-bought stocks during the cited period, the Saturday data showed.

The Kospi surged 7.4 percent for the cited month.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)