Foreigners, 'Palja' for 2 Consecutive Weeks... Buying Momentum Continues in KOSDAQ

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors continued their selling trend in the domestic stock market for two consecutive weeks.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 21st, foreign investors net sold about 521.3 billion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 15th to the 19th. They sold 538.9 billion KRW in the KOSPI market but bought 17.6 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was Samsung SDI. Foreign investors net bought Samsung SDI by 140.5 billion KRW last week. This was followed by LG Chem, which they bought for 99.9 billion KRW. Other net purchases included Celltrion (62.7 billion KRW), Kakao (45.5 billion KRW), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (43.9 billion KRW), Celltrion Pharm (35.5 billion KRW), Celltrion Healthcare (32.6 billion KRW), POSCO (26.5 billion KRW), KH Vatec (26.2 billion KRW), and Samsung Electronics (19.6 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was SK. Foreign investors net sold SK by 108.4 billion KRW last week. This was followed by SK Telecom, which they sold for 63.8 billion KRW. Other top net sales included SK Hynix (58.7 billion KRW), Shinhan Financial Group (57.7 billion KRW), Hyundai Mobis (57.5 billion KRW), Hotel Shilla (44.0 billion KRW), Samsung Biologics (42.9 billion KRW), Douzone Bizon (42.8 billion KRW), Macquarie Infrastructure (37.0 billion KRW), and Korea Electric Power Corporation (32.0 billion KRW).

Although the scale of foreign investors’ selling has recently expanded again, it is difficult to interpret this as a capital outflow. Labor Gil, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "Concerns about the second wave of COVID-19, noise related to additional U.S. stimulus measures are burdens on the KOSPI, and the reemergence of geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula could also affect the stock market." He added, "The foreign exchange market and domestic default risk (CDS spread) remain stable, and although foreign net selling has recently increased again, considering the expansion of long positions in the futures market, it is difficult to see this as capital outflow." Researcher Roh also noted, "The geopolitical risk on the Korean Peninsula is a cautionary factor because the possibility of additional provocations by North Korea cannot be excluded, but it has not yet significantly affected the domestic financial market. Foreign investors have historically reacted more sensitively to friction between North Korea and the U.S. than to inter-Korean tensions."

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