Even as Stock Prices Falter, Foreigners Selectively Buy Game Stocks

Excluding Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, Game Stocks Most Bought
Continued Optimism for Metaverse and NFT Utilization

On the morning of the 24th, when the KOSPI started rising, a dealer is heading to their seat at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Recently, foreign investors who have been steadily purchasing domestic stocks are focusing their buying on gaming stocks. Although the investment enthusiasm related to the metaverse (expanded virtual world) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has somewhat cooled down recently, it is interpreted that they still highly regard the growth potential.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 24th, foreign investors have net purchased a total of 2.9351 trillion KRW worth of stocks in the KOSPI market from the 11th to the previous day. This amount is already four times the largest monthly net purchase amount this year, which was 700 billion KRW in June. This contrasts with the previous month when they net sold 3.8731 trillion KRW worth of stocks. Except for the 18th, foreign investors consistently net purchased stocks since the 11th.

Foreign investors mainly bought Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. These two stocks alone accounted for a net purchase of 1.6026 trillion KRW. It appears they started bottom-fishing as forecasts emerged that the semiconductor industry has hit the bottom. Along with this, gaming stocks were also intensively purchased. Excluding Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the top net purchased stocks included Krafton (384.9 billion KRW), NCSoft (259.5 billion KRW), and Kakao Games (150.2 billion KRW). These ranked 3rd, 5th, and 8th respectively among the top net purchased stocks during this period. Among the top 10 net purchased stocks by foreigners during this period, excluding the semiconductor sector (58.8%), the gaming sector accounted for the largest share at 27.1% (794.6 billion KRW).

In particular, foreign net purchases continued steadily despite the stocks’ sluggish prices. Krafton’s stock price fell about 6.49% based on closing prices from the 11th, when foreign net buying began in earnest, to the previous day. During the same period, NCSoft dropped by as much as 9.93%. This is significantly below the KOSPI’s 2.47% increase during the same period. Only Kakao Games rose by 3.54%, outperforming the market return (KOSDAQ rose 2.12%) during this period.

It is interpreted that expectations remain that individual games can be utilized as a kind of metaverse and can establish new revenue structures through NFTs. Jang Hee-jong, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, said, "The stock market’s response to innovations such as the metaverse and NFTs shows that expectations for growth remain," adding, "Considering that NFTs are still in the early stages as a powerful tool to enhance the reliability of digital assets, the inclusion of digital assets as investment assets and growth in innovative industries will continue further."

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