Foreigners Continue 'Palja' for 4 Consecutive Weeks... Bought Samjeon, Sold Naver

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors continued their selling streak in the domestic stock market for the fourth consecutive week.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 31st, foreign investors sold a net total of approximately 580 billion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 25th to the 29th. They sold 481.9 billion KRW in the KOSPI market and 98 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was Samsung Electronics. Foreign investors net bought Samsung Electronics for 314.9 billion KRW last week. This was followed by POSCO, which they bought for 73 billion KRW. Other net purchases included Celltrion Pharm (59.8 billion KRW), Kia Motors (50 billion KRW), Hana Financial Group (49.3 billion KRW), Douzone Bizon (44.5 billion KRW), KB Financial Group (44.2 billion KRW), HLB (41.3 billion KRW), Samsung Biologics (40.5 billion KRW), and Daelim Industrial (30.7 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was Naver. Foreign investors net sold Naver for 297 billion KRW last week. This was followed by Samsung SDI, which they sold for 236.5 billion KRW. Other top net sales included Celltrion Healthcare (186.3 billion KRW), SK Hynix (154.8 billion KRW), SK (75.5 billion KRW), Samsung Electronics Preferred Shares (71.5 billion KRW), KT&G (62.3 billion KRW), Hanjin KAL (56.9 billion KRW), Kakao (35.1 billion KRW), and HDC Hyundai Development Company (34.7 billion KRW).

With China’s handling of the Hong Kong National Security Law expected to intensify US-China tensions, it is anticipated that the domestic stock market will also be affected. Laborngil, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "Despite positive external factors, concerns over the full-scale US-China friction will slow the recovery speed of the KOSPI." He added, "Although the conflict has not yet escalated to tariffs and there is a willingness to uphold the Phase 1 trade agreement, which has so far limited the possibility of index declines, the impact on the stock market will vary depending on the scope of the friction."

Moon Namjung, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "The uncertainty in the stock market will depend on the severity of the sanctions the US decides to impose." He predicted, "The initial measures will likely involve financial sanctions and asset freezes targeting Communist Party officials and related companies, inevitably damaging investor sentiment, but the stock market decline will be limited to a shallow level." However, he noted that the recent tolerance of yuan depreciation by the People’s Bank of China can be understood as a monetary tool to shift the economic growth axis toward a self-reliant economic model starting from this year’s Two Sessions (National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference). This, from the US perspective, inevitably appears as the establishment of a China-centered global economic bloc. Moon added, "This forces the US to consider revoking Hong Kong’s special status and designating China as a currency manipulator." He further stated, "Even if the US government uses just one of these cards, the stock market will go through a process of cooling down the overheated trend formed since the March low, using the Hong Kong-related negative factors as an excuse."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.