The Return of the Foreigner, Holding 'Kakao' and 'Samsung SDI' in Both Hands

Top Two Stocks Most Bought During 3 Consecutive Days of Net Buying
Kakao Recovers to 150,000 Won Level in a Month Amid Institutional Buying Pressure

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors, who had been driving the stock market decline with continuous selling pressure, have recently turned to ‘buying’. Foreign investors, who have started net buying after a long time, were found to have purchased shares of Kakao, Samsung SDI, and others.

As of 9:15 AM on the 26th, foreign investors showed net buying of over 30 billion KRW in the KOSPI. This marks three consecutive days of net buying. From the 6th to the 23rd, foreign investors recorded net selling exceeding 8 trillion KRW over 10 trading days in the KOSPI.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors after turning to buying was Kakao. From the 24th, when foreign investors switched to buying, until the previous day, they net bought Kakao shares worth 80.8 billion KRW. Kakao’s stock price recovered to the 150,000 KRW level after about a month, driven by buying from foreign investors and institutions. Kakao’s stock price had touched an all-time high of 170,000 KRW intraday at the end of June but had weakened due to profit-taking sales. Recently, with institutions continuously net buying, foreign investors also joined in, leading to a successful rebound in the stock price. Institutions have net bought Kakao for six consecutive trading days.

Following Kakao, foreign investors net bought Samsung SDI shares worth 65.4 billion KRW. Despite continuing their selling streak overall, foreign investors have consistently purchased Samsung SDI. They have net bought Samsung SDI for 14 consecutive trading days, and it is the stock they have bought the most this month. Since the beginning of this month, foreign investors have accumulated Samsung SDI shares worth 683.2 billion KRW.

Next, they purchased HMM (65.2 billion KRW), SK Hynix (38.5 billion KRW), KB Financial Group (33 billion KRW), SK Bioscience (31.8 billion KRW), and KakaoBank (31.5 billion KRW). With the selling pressure on semiconductors easing, foreign investors have completely turned to buying SK Hynix. Regarding Samsung Electronics, they sold shares worth 771.9 billion KRW over the past two days, significantly reducing the scale but maintaining a selling stance.

Although the selling pressure from foreign investors has eased, it is difficult to say they have completely reversed their position. With the Jackson Hole meeting on the 27th approaching, and variables such as tapering (asset purchase reduction), the spread of the Delta variant, and concerns about economic recovery still present, uncertainty remains. Kim Hyung-ryeol, head of the Research Center at Kyobo Securities, said, "The speed of economic recovery varies depending on how COVID-19 is managed, and the U.S. is expected to receive strong economic momentum compared to other countries, intensifying the dollar’s strength." He added, "Debates about the peak of domestic exports and corporate profits are also intensifying, making it difficult to expect strong foreign capital inflows for the time being."

Attention should be paid to companies with good earnings among those with net buying by foreign investors. Researcher Yoo Myung-gan of Mirae Asset Securities analyzed, "Due to ongoing domestic and international uncertainties, uncertainty related to foreign investor supply and demand will remain high for the time being. It is advantageous to adopt a strategy of selecting companies likely to sustain net buying rather than those with high net buying intensity. Companies likely to sustain foreign net buying are those with favorable earnings momentum."

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