South Korea's KOSPI fell on Sept. 10 on heavy foreign selling, but held the 7,000 level. The index briefly slid to the 6,900 level during the session, but recouped most of its losses as buying by institutions and individuals came in.

The KOSPI closed down 17.72 points, or 0.25%, at 7,033.92. It opened down 12.79 points, or 0.18%, at 7,038.85.

The index rose as high as 7,072.79, but slid to the 6,800 level as foreign selling accelerated. It later regained the 7,000 level as bargain hunting emerged.

The KOSPI moved above 7,000 on a closing basis the previous day for the first time in 33 trading sessions. Intraday volatility increased on Thursday, but it held the 7,000 level for a second straight session on a closing basis.

In the main bourse, foreigners were net sellers of 2.49 trillion won. Individuals and institutions were net buyers of 362.2 billion won and 461.5 billion won, respectively.

Among top market-cap stocks, Samsung Electronics closed down 0.19% at 269,000 won and SK Hynix fell 0.16% to 1,853,000 won.

SK Square fell 0.26%, Samsung Electro-Mechanics slipped 0.28%, LG Energy Solution dropped 1.62% and Samsung Biologics fell 2.00%.

Samsung Life rose 1.98%, Samsung C&T added 0.93% and Hyundai Motor gained 0.26%.

The Kosdaq ended higher. It rose 6.55 points, or 0.79%, to 836.92.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won ended at 1,338.90 per dollar, up 2.10 won, or 0.16%, from the previous session.

Han Ji-young (한지영), an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said the market has moved a step forward from the earlier task of breaking through resistance at the 7,000 level to checking whether 7,000 can turn into an actual support level.

She said there was no need to interpret increased volatility later this week, stemming from factors including the consumer price index (CPI), the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and geopolitical variables, as damage to the market trend. She added investors need to watch whether sector rotation continues as the market keeps lifting its lows, spreading beyond semiconductors to power equipment, nuclear power and small to mid-cap stocks.