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Market wrap · Friday, October 16, 2026

KOSPI rebounds 2.0% and KOSDAQ jumps 4.5% after chip rout; Korean Air falls 10.5% on fuel costs

KOSPI+2.0%KOSDAQ+4.5%KOSPI 200+2.0%

Korean stocks rebounded on October 16 after a heavy sell-off. KOSPI closed up 2.0% at 5,668.05, its first gain in eight sessions, after closing at a six-month low of 5,554.22 the day before on AI-worries in chipmakers. KOSDAQ rose 4.5% to 794.78, and a buy sidecar was triggered during the session. Sources said foreigners had sold about ₩8.8 trillion of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in a week. Samsung Electronics rose 2.6% and SK hynix 0.8%.

The won strengthened to 1,331.4 per dollar, the strongest since October 2024, after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh declined to pre-signal policy and exporters sold dollars. That eased worries about foreign selling. Biotech led the rebound: Alteogen rose 9.6%, Celltrion 6.5% and Samsung Biologics 4.1%. Chip testing and packaging names such as Exicon (+22.4%) and TFE (+16.9%) jumped. Korean Air fell 10.5% and Asiana 9.3% as high oil prices from the Middle East conflict weighed on airlines.

Why the market moved

KOSPI rebounded after a seven-day slide as the dip drew buying, the won hit a two-year high on Fed chief Warsh's remarks and exporter dollar sales, and foreigners turned net buyers.1234

Top themes

Biotech

Biotech bought after steep prior-day fall; US healthcare strength12

Chip testing & packaging

Chip rebound lifted test equipment names12

  • Exicon, Chip test equipment order interest+22.40%
  • TFE, Chip testing and packaging name+16.91%
  • Intekplus, Chip inspection equipment supplier+15.40%

Aesthetics

₩144.7B rights offering completed12

  • L&C Bio, Rights offering funds Dongtan production base+23.63%
  • APR, Aesthetics and cosmetics theme gainer+9.23%
  • PharmaResearch, Aesthetics theme gainer+7.54%

The big stories

Foreign selling of ₩8.8T hits Samsung and SK Hynix; KOSPI rebounds 2% on Oct 16

Foreigners sold ₩8.8 trillion of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares, sending them down 17% and 24% in a single week, and KOSPI closed at a six-month low of 5,554 on an AI-worries chip rout before rebounding. On October 16 the KOSPI closed up 2.05%, with Samsung Electronics up 2.62% and SK hynix up 0.79%, while the KOSDAQ jumped 4.46%.12345678

Directly affected

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Further out

Won hits two-year high near 1,331 as dollar weakens after Fed chief remarks

The won closed at 1,331.4 per dollar on October 16, its strongest level since October 2024, after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh declined to pre-signal policy at the IMF meeting and exporters sold dollars. The move eased fears of foreign stock selling and supported the market rebound.12345

Directly affected

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Korean Air falls 10.5% despite strong Q3 results on high fuel prices

Korean Air closed down 10.53% on October 16 despite Q3 revenue topping ₩5 trillion, as high oil prices from the Middle East conflict weighed on airlines. Asiana Airlines fell 9.3%, and brokers such as iM Securities called the sell-off a buying opportunity.12345

Directly affected

Further out

Woorim wins ₩22.8B optical semiconductor order for AI data centers; stock surges 22%

Wooriro won a ₩22.8 billion order to supply optical semiconductor components for data centers, and its shares closed up 21.96% on October 16.1234

Directly affected

Next in line

L&C Bio completes ₩144.7B rights offering; shares up 23.6%

L&C Bio completed a ₩144.7 billion rights offering, with existing shareholders subscribing at 103.92%, and the funds go to a Dongtan production base. The stock closed up 23.63% on October 16.12345

Directly affected

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The market

KOSPI rose 2.0% to 5,668.05, KOSDAQ 4.5% to 794.78 and KOSPI 200 2.0% to 878.16. Rising stocks numbered 2,230 against 357 falling. Trading value was about ₩27.0 trillion, below the recent average of about ₩29.0 trillion. Foreigners were net buyers of about ₩321.4 billion on KOSPI, ending an eight-day selling streak, and net sellers of about ₩90.5 billion on KOSDAQ. The won closed at 1,331.4 per dollar. Overnight, the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, the Nasdaq 100 ETF 2.5% and the US chip ETF 4.1%; the Nikkei rose 1.4%. Brent was at $109.86, up 3.9%. The 3-year KTB yield was 3.854%.

KOSPIDaily closes · shaded: this wrap5,668.05
6,0006,5007,000
Sep 1Sep 15Sep 30Oct 16
KOSDAQDaily closes · shaded: this wrap794.78
800850900
Sep 1Sep 15Sep 30Oct 16

2,230 stocks rose, 357 fell · trading value ₩27T

USD/KRW1,348.5+0.7%
KTB 3y3.85-1bp
UST 10y5.09-1bp
S&P 5007,659.44−1.1%
Nasdaq 100 (QQQ ETF)−2.5%
US chips (SOXX ETF)−4.1%
Nikkei 22565,324.29+1.4%
Brent oil109.86+3.9%
Gold4,181.1+0.1%
Copper (CPER ETF)+0.1%

Themes investors follow

Biotech led: ADC and cancer drugs rose 6.5% (Alteogen +9.6%, LigaChem Biosciences +8.8%), and biosimilars 5.3% (Samsung Epis Holdings +8.7%). Chip testing and packaging rose 6.4%, and foundry and chip design 5.2% (Sawnics +30.0%). HBM and AI chips rose 5.0% (Systems Technology +14.5%), on-device AI 4.5%, and obesity drugs 4.7% (Peptron +12.3%). K-defense rose 3.6% (Hanwha Aerospace +7.8%), nuclear 3.9%, robotics 4.3% (Wooriro +22.0%), shipbuilding 2.4%. Battery materials lagged: L&F fell 10.5% and Daejoo Electronic Materials 8.0%. Airlines fell, led by Korean Air.

Popular themes

Best themes

Worst themes

  • Airlines & travel−0.5%Korean Air Lines −10.5% · Asiana Airlines −9.3% · Hanjinkal −6.1%
  • Lithium & rare metals−0.2%L&F −10.5% · Daejoo Electronic Materials −8.0% · Chunbo −2.2%
  • Shipping & logistics+0.4%Korean Air Lines −10.5% · Hanjinkal −6.1% · JIN Air −2.9%
  • REITs+0.6%E Kocref Cr-Reit −0.9% · NH Prime Reit −0.8% · Miraeasset Maps REIT 1 −0.6%
  • Tires+0.7%Hankook & Company −1.7% · Kumho Petro Chemical −0.7% · Kolon Industries −0.6%
  • Education & edtech+0.8%Ubion −4.8% · YBM Net −1.5% · YeaRimDang Publishing −0.9%

The biggest companies

Samsung Electronics rose 2.6% and SK hynix 0.8%. Hanwha Aerospace gained 7.8%, Samsung C&T 7.1%, Celltrion 6.5% and Hyundai Motor 5.6%. Samsung Life rose 4.6%, Samsung Biologics 4.1% and KIA 4.1%. LG Energy Solution rose 0.1%, while Samsung SDI fell 1.9% and Shinhan Financial 0.9%. Sources gave no clear reason for most large-cap moves beyond the broad rebound.

Who was buying and selling

Foreigners bought Samsung Electronics (about ₩199.2 billion), Celltrion (₩61.1 billion) and Hyundai Motor (₩53.0 billion), and sold Samsung Electro-Mechanics (₩134.3 billion), SK hynix (₩79.1 billion) and Samsung Biologics (₩60.9 billion). Institutions bought Samsung Biologics (₩87.5 billion) and Celltrion (₩49.5 billion) and sold SK hynix (₩381.6 billion) and Samsung Electronics (₩313.7 billion). Retail bought Samsung Electro-Mechanics (₩148.8 billion), Korean Air (₩84.1 billion) and Samsung SDI (₩66.8 billion), and sold SK hynix and Celltrion.

Foreign investors

Net bought

  1. 1Samsung Electronics+₩199B+2.6%
  2. 2Celltrion+₩61B+6.5%
  3. 3Hyundai Motor+₩53B+5.6%
  4. 4Samsung Electronics Pref.+₩38B+5.1%
  5. 5Samsung C&T+₩32B+7.1%
  6. 6Alteogen+₩31B+9.6%
  7. 7SK Square+₩28B+2.5%
  8. 8NAVER+₩26B+3.7%
  9. 9Doosan Enerbility+₩22B+2.1%
  10. 10Hanwha Ocean+₩21B+4.2%
  11. 11GnCenergy+₩19B+4.6%
  12. 12POSCO Holdings+₩19B+1.5%
  13. 13HMM+₩16B+1.3%
  14. 14APR+₩15B+9.2%
  15. 15KB Financial Group+₩15B+2.1%

Net sold

  1. 1Samsung Electro-Mechanics−₩134B+2.2%
  2. 2SK hynix−₩79B+0.8%
  3. 3Samsung Biologics−₩61B+4.1%
  4. 4Jusung Engineering−₩49B+2.9%
  5. 5Samsung SDI−₩49B−1.9%
  6. 6Korean Air Lines−₩43B−10.5%
  7. 7Hyosung Heavy Industries−₩29B+5.8%
  8. 8DB Insurance−₩29B−2.1%
  9. 9Daeduck Electronics−₩23B+1.7%
  10. 10PSK Holdings−₩22B+7.5%
  11. 11Simmtech−₩22B+1.9%
  12. 12Hana Micron−₩20B+5.3%
  13. 13L&F−₩19B−10.5%
  14. 14Daejoo Electronic Materials−₩18B−8.0%
  15. 15Wonik IPS−₩12B+6.1%

Institutions

Net bought

  1. 1Samsung Biologics+₩88B+4.1%
  2. 2Celltrion+₩49B+6.5%
  3. 3Samyang Foods+₩36B+6.8%
  4. 4HYBE+₩30B+7.1%
  5. 5Hyundai Mobis+₩27B+4.4%
  6. 6Hyosung Heavy Industries+₩26B+5.8%
  7. 7DB Insurance+₩26B−2.1%
  8. 8Hanwha Systems+₩23B+5.2%
  9. 9Hanwha Aerospace+₩22B+7.8%
  10. 10Jusung Engineering+₩18B+2.9%
  11. 11Hyundai Motor+₩17B+5.6%
  12. 12Alteogen+₩16B+9.6%
  13. 13HD Hyundai Electric+₩14B+6.0%
  14. 14Hanmi Semiconductor+₩13B+9.3%
  15. 15Wonik IPS+₩12B+6.1%

Net sold

  1. 1SK hynix−₩382B+0.8%
  2. 2Samsung Electronics−₩314B+2.6%
  3. 3Samsung Electronics Pref.−₩74B+5.1%
  4. 4Korean Air Lines−₩42B−10.5%
  5. 5SK Square−₩33B+2.5%
  6. 6Samsung Electro-Mechanics−₩25B+2.2%
  7. 7L&F−₩23B−10.5%
  8. 8LS Eco Energy−₩23B−6.3%
  9. 9Samsung SDI−₩22B−1.9%
  10. 10GnCenergy−₩22B+4.6%
  11. 11S-Oil−₩22B−3.6%
  12. 12Gaon Cable−₩17B+0.8%
  13. 13Samsung C&T−₩15B+7.1%
  14. 14Shinhan Financial Group−₩14B−0.9%
  15. 15Doosan Enerbility−₩13B+2.1%

Retail investors

Net bought

  1. 1Samsung Electro-Mechanics+₩149B+2.2%
  2. 2Korean Air Lines+₩84B−10.5%
  3. 3Samsung SDI+₩67B−1.9%
  4. 4L&F+₩42B−10.5%
  5. 5Simmtech+₩30B+1.9%
  6. 6Jusung Engineering+₩30B+2.9%
  7. 7Samsung Electronics Pref.+₩27B+5.1%
  8. 8Daeduck Electronics+₩18B+1.7%
  9. 9Gaon Cable+₩17B+0.8%
  10. 10Daejoo Electronic Materials+₩15B−8.0%
  11. 11Fadu+₩13B+0.2%
  12. 12Korea Circuit+₩13B−1.2%
  13. 13LS Electric+₩13B+1.9%
  14. 14Doosan Tesna+₩13B−5.1%
  15. 15ISU Specialty Chemical+₩10B−3.8%

Net sold

  1. 1SK hynix−₩196B+0.8%
  2. 2Celltrion−₩118B+6.5%
  3. 3Hyundai Motor−₩67B+5.6%
  4. 4Alteogen−₩46B+9.6%
  5. 5HYBE−₩38B+7.1%
  6. 6NAVER−₩30B+3.7%
  7. 7Samyang Foods−₩29B+6.8%
  8. 8Samsung Biologics−₩28B+4.1%
  9. 9Hanwha Aerospace−₩21B+7.8%
  10. 10Hanwha Ocean−₩20B+4.2%
  11. 11KIA−₩19B+4.1%
  12. 12Hyundai Mobis−₩18B+4.4%
  13. 13Hanwha Systems−₩17B+5.2%
  14. 14Hanmi Semiconductor−₩17B+9.3%
  15. 15HMM−₩17B+1.3%

Pension funds

Net bought

  1. 1Samsung Biologics+₩80B+4.1%
  2. 2Celltrion+₩21B+6.5%
  3. 3Hyosung Heavy Industries+₩17B+5.8%
  4. 4HYBE+₩15B+7.1%
  5. 5Jusung Engineering+₩13B+2.9%
  6. 6Samsung Electronics+₩13B+2.6%
  7. 7Hanwha Aerospace+₩12B+7.8%
  8. 8Hyundai Glovis+₩11B+5.5%
  9. 9Amorepacific+₩10B+5.2%
  10. 10Hanwha Systems+₩9.9B+5.2%
  11. 11LG Energy Solution+₩9.6B+0.1%
  12. 12Hyundai Mobis+₩8.1B+4.4%
  13. 13Samyang Foods+₩8.1B+6.8%
  14. 14Hyundai Motor 2nd Pref.+₩7.2B+7.0%
  15. 15LG Uplus+₩7.2B+2.9%

Net sold

  1. 1Samsung Electronics Pref.−₩93B+5.1%
  2. 2SK hynix−₩88B+0.8%
  3. 3SK Square−₩25B+2.5%
  4. 4Samsung Electro-Mechanics−₩24B+2.2%
  5. 5Korean Air Lines−₩24B−10.5%
  6. 6Samsung SDI−₩21B−1.9%
  7. 7S-Oil−₩13B−3.6%
  8. 8LS Electric−₩11B+1.9%
  9. 9KB Financial Group−₩10B+2.1%
  10. 10NAVER−₩10B+3.7%
  11. 11DB Insurance−₩9.8B−2.1%
  12. 12L&F−₩8.4B−10.5%
  13. 13Shinhan Financial Group−₩8.2B−0.9%
  14. 14Simmtech−₩6.2B+1.9%
  15. 15LG Electronics−₩6.1B+0.7%

ETFs

The best ETFs were PLUS AI Semiconductor Parts Materials Active (+10.6%), RISE Bio TOP10 Active (+8.0%) and TIGER KOSDAQ 150 Biotech (+7.7%), with KODEX Bio up 7.4%, so money followed biotech and chip-related themes. Worst were ACE MSCI Indonesia (Synthetic) (-10.9%), KIWOOM US Crude Oil Energy Companies (-2.6%) and SOL All-Solid-State Battery & Silicon Anode (-2.6%). Battery ETFs fell about 1% to 2%.

Best ETFs

Worst ETFs

Leveraged and inverse ETFs are left out; moves are the daily moves compounded.

How our signals did

No Squeeze! setups were active. Of 40 technical events since September 16, 13 worked. SK Square's October 13 breakdown signal worked (-3.4%), while HMM's October 14 breakout was down 4.1%. No pair trades were flagged. Top short squeeze scores were Meritz Financial Group (60), KMW (58), and Doosan Robotics and ISU Specialty Chemical (55 each).

Notable technical signals

40 notable signals: 13 moved the way they pointed so far.

Highest short squeeze scores

Signals since Sep 16. Signals describe past prices. Results run from the signal to the latest close; they are not recommendations.

Written by AI from JONBUR's data and checked against those figures. Reasons come only from the linked news, filings and broker reports for that day; when none gives a reason, we say so. Index moves marked est. are our estimate from closing prices until the official index is available. Not financial advice.

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