[Market Update] KOSPI Drops 3.12% Amid 8.7% Decline in Samsung Electronics, Bitcoin Holds at $76,000

[By Yang Won-mo, Block Media] On the 24th, the KOSPI fell sharply by over 3% as foreign and institutional investors sold off despite Samsung Electronics' announcement of a large-scale shareholder return. In contrast, the KOSDAQ rose due to strong performance in secondary battery stocks. Bitcoin showed a slight upward trend, trading in the high $76,000 range as institutional funds continued to flow into U.S. spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

In South Korea, discussions on digital asset taxation and stablecoin legislation gained momentum simultaneously. The National Tax Service held its first advisory committee meeting to establish guidelines for digital asset taxation, focusing on detailed tax criteria for acquisition types such as staking and airdrops. Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Ok-won also attended a National Assembly meeting, stating that discussions on a digital asset basic law, including stablecoins, would be intensified. The government aims to implement digital asset taxation in January next year and complete the second phase of legislation within the year.

Internationally, additional U.S. economic sanctions against Iran have emerged as a key variable. The U.S. government is set to unveil new sanctions targeting Iran's trading partners tonight, Korean time, while Iran warned that it could block oil exports from the Gulf region if economic pressure continues. The Chicago Federal Reserve's National Activity Index for July is also expected to be released today.

KOSPI Plummets 3.12% Despite Samsung Electronics' Shareholder Return of 8.7%

According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI closed at 6,696.96, down 215.99 points (3.12%) from the previous trading day. It rose to 6,884.57 during the day but later widened its losses, dropping to 6,656.07.

Individuals purchased a net 3.3192 trillion won, but foreign and institutional investors sold a net 3.6758 trillion won and 1.2917 trillion won, respectively, pulling the index down.

Samsung Electronics ended trading down 8.70% at 257,000 won. On the 21st, it announced a shareholder return plan worth 90 to 110 trillion won, including a special dividend of 30 trillion won, but it failed to meet market expectations, leading to profit-taking.

Samsung Life Insurance fell 13.09% to 285,500 won, while Samsung Electronics preferred shares dropped 8.55%, and Samsung C&T fell 7.84%. SK Hynix also decreased by 3.41% to 1,671,000 won, and SK Square fell by 4.19%.

In contrast, LG Energy Solution closed up 5.39% at 362,000 won. Hanwha Aerospace rose by 1.84%, and Samsung Biologics increased by 1.42%. Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose by 0.15%, while Hyundai Motor fell by 0.24%.

The KOSDAQ closed at 813.33, up 11.39 points (1.42%) from the previous trading day. Foreign and institutional investors bought a net 241.7 billion won and 24.9 billion won, respectively, while individuals sold a net 260.4 billion won.

EcoPro BM surged 10.80% to 117,000 won, and EcoPro rose 7.59% to 87,900 won, leading the rally in secondary battery stocks. Alteogen rose by 0.16%, while HLB and Iot Technics fell by 2.07% and 4.08%, respectively.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,382.4 won, down 4.1 won from the previous trading day as of 3:30 PM. At one point during the day, it dropped to 1,376.5 won, falling below the 1,380 won mark.

Bitcoin Holds at $76,000 with 3.9% Increase in Trading Volume

The digital asset market continued its slight upward trend. As of 5:30 PM, Bitcoin was trading at $76,878, up 0.85% from 24 hours ago, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin's market capitalization stood at $1.54 trillion (approximately 2,131.36 trillion won), with a 24-hour trading volume of $32.33 billion (approximately 44.74 trillion won), reflecting a 3.9% increase from the previous day.

The total market capitalization of digital assets also rose by 0.95% to $2.61 trillion (approximately 3,612.24 trillion won) compared to 24 hours ago. The Fear and Greed Index indicated a level of 'Greed' at 78. The total liquidation amount across the market over 24 hours was recorded at $285.06 million (approximately 394.5 billion won).

Top 10 digital assets by market capitalization. Source: CoinMarketCap

Major digital assets by market capitalization continued to perform well. At the same time, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 1.33% to $2,438.25, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.92% to $694.08. Solana (SOL) rose by 0.57% to $93.37, while Tron (TRX) increased by 0.17% to $0.3432.

In contrast, XRP fell by 1.49% to $1.45, and Hyperliquid (HYPE) dropped by 1.99% to $77.40. Dogecoin (DOGE) also traded down 0.58% at $0.09035.

Internationally, the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields showed mixed results. As of 5:30 PM, the dollar index (DXY) rose by 0.20% to 98.705. Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell by 2.4 basis points to 4.712%, while the 30-year yield dropped by 2.3 basis points to 5.253%.

$500 Million Net Inflow into Spot ETFs, Futures Remain Steady

ETFs continued their streak of net inflows. According to Paradigm Investors, a total of $375 million (approximately 425.6 billion won) flowed into U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs on the 21st. This follows a large inflow of $630 million (approximately 839.1 billion won) from the previous trading day.

By product, BlackRock's IBIT led the inflow with $239.3 million (approximately 331.2 billion won). Fidelity's FBTC saw an inflow of $30.2 million (approximately 41.8 billion won), Grayscale's BTC had $13.6 million (approximately 18.8 billion won), Bitwise's BITB received $9.2 million (approximately 12.7 billion won), Morgan Stanley's MSBT had $7.7 million (approximately 10.7 billion won), VanEck's HODL saw $4.4 million (approximately 6.1 billion won), and ARK Invest's ARKB had $3.1 million (approximately 4.3 billion won) in net inflows.

A total of $184 million (approximately 254.7 billion won) also flowed into Ethereum spot ETFs. BlackRock's ETHA attracted the most funds with $150.8 million (approximately 208.7 billion won), followed by Grayscale's ETH with $11.5 million (approximately 15.9 billion won), BlackRock's ETHB with $9.9 million (approximately 13.7 billion won), Fidelity's FETH with $9.6 million (approximately 13.3 billion won), and Bitwise's ETHW with $2.2 million (approximately 3 billion won).

A total of $10 million (approximately 13.8 billion won) flowed into Solana spot ETFs, with Bitwise's BSOL receiving $8.7 million (approximately 12 billion won) and Fidelity's FSOL attracting $1.3 million (approximately 1.8 billion won).

Futures remained steady. As of 5:30 PM, Bitcoin's August futures traded at $77,190, up $10 (0.01%) from the previous settlement price at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). In contrast, September futures fell by $35 (0.05%) to $77,460, remaining steady.

CME's Ethereum August futures rose by $31.50 (1.30%) to $2,449, while September futures increased by $38.50 (1.59%) to $2,465.

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