Market index
KOSDAQ
The composite index covering the entire KOSDAQ market. Weighted toward small-cap growth names in biotech, batteries, and software, it swings more with risk appetite and retail flows than the KOSPI.
At a glance
KOSDAQ: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-09-18, KOSDAQ is 827.1 pt. It is 4.94 pt higher than 822.2 pt on 2026-09-17.
Across 142 available observations from 2026-02-24 to 2026-09-18, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 25th percentile.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 2026-02-24–2026-09-18
- Observations · observed cadence
- 142 · Daily
- Data source
- Naver Finance
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
KOSDAQ
2026-02-24–2026-09-18
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Recent observations and calculated changes
The ten latest chart observations. Change subtracts the previous observation; intervals vary with holidays, release schedules and missing data. A difference in rates or ratios is not an investment return.
| Observed | Value | Previous date | Difference (current − previous) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-18 | 827.1 pt | 2026-09-17 | 4.94 pt |
| 2026-09-17 | 822.2 pt | 2026-09-16 | 6.20 pt |
| 2026-09-16 | 816.0 pt | 2026-09-15 | 3.57 pt |
| 2026-09-15 | 812.4 pt | 2026-09-14 | 5.62 pt |
| 2026-09-14 | 806.8 pt | 2026-09-11 | -13.85 pt |
| 2026-09-11 | 820.6 pt | 2026-09-10 | -16.28 pt |
| 2026-09-10 | 836.9 pt | 2026-09-09 | 6.55 pt |
| 2026-09-09 | 830.4 pt | 2026-09-08 | 18.49 pt |
| 2026-09-08 | 811.9 pt | 2026-09-07 | -10.31 pt |
| 2026-09-07 | 822.2 pt | 2026-09-04 | 8.69 pt |
Source: Naver Finance
Interpretation guide
The KOSDAQ index: a thermometer for retail flows and growth-stock sentiment
The KOSDAQ composite covers every listing on Korea's KOSDAQ market, capitalization-weighted with a base of 1,000 set on July 1, 1996. Dominated by growth themes — batteries, biotech, entertainment, games — and traded heavily by retail investors, it reads domestic risk appetite in a way the KOSPI cannot.
How it differs from KOSPI
Where KOSPI follows mega-cap semiconductors and foreign flows, KOSDAQ follows top thematic names and retail money. The two indexes routinely diverge on the same day, and that divergence is itself information about the market's character.
- KOSDAQ outperforming KOSPI signals retail-driven risk appetite is alive.
- When both fall but KOSDAQ falls harder, suspect margin-call selling pressure.
- Check whether the index's top weights are concentrated in one theme before reading a rally as broad.
Margin credit and volatility
Many KOSDAQ names carry high margin-loan ratios, so leverage amplifies rallies and forced liquidation deepens declines. Overlaying TapeFlow's KOSDAQ margin credit balance shows how much leverage has accumulated under the index.
- An index rollover from record-high margin balances raises the risk of self-reinforcing declines.
- Rebounds that start after margin balances have properly deflated tend to last longer.
- Days when KOSDAQ turnover exceeds KOSPI's are often read as short-term overheating.
Uses and misreads
A handful of large thematic names can carry the index, so the level alone is a poor guide to small-cap health. Read the index together with advance-decline counts, margin balances, and turnover.
- More decliners than advancers on an up day means a narrow, theme-driven tape.
- A prolonged KOSDAQ downtrend signals retail money de-risking.
- In rising-rate phases, growth-heavy KOSDAQ faces a structural discount-rate headwind.