by Song Hwajung
Published 08 Mar.2020 10:00(KST)
[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors continued their selling streak for the fourth consecutive week. Hanjin KAL ranked first in net foreign buying for the second consecutive week.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 8th, foreign investors sold a net total of approximately 1.8828 trillion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 2nd to the 6th. They sold 1.6535 trillion KRW in the KOSPI market and 229.2 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market, respectively.
The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was Hanjin KAL. Foreign investors net bought 119.7 billion KRW worth of Hanjin KAL last week, which is interpreted as due to additional purchases by Delta Air Lines. Delta Air Lines disclosed on the 5th that it had recently purchased 1,761,074 shares of Hanjin KAL (a 2.98% stake) on the market. Following that, they bought Celltrion worth 71.7 billion KRW. Other net purchases included KT&G (70.9 billion KRW), SK Telecom (46.7 billion KRW), NCSoft (35.9 billion KRW), Samsung C&T (24.2 billion KRW), Hanon Systems (13.8 billion KRW), Netmarble (13.5 billion KRW), LG Display (13.0 billion KRW), and Com2uS (11.6 billion KRW).
The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was Samsung Electronics. Foreign investors net sold Samsung Electronics worth 631.9 billion KRW last week. They also sold SK Hynix worth 257.4 billion KRW. Other top net sales included Samsung Electronics Preferred (193.1 billion KRW), Hyundai Motor (152.8 billion KRW), SK Innovation (77.9 billion KRW), SK (56.5 billion KRW), Kakao (44.1 billion KRW), Korea Electric Power Corporation (35.4 billion KRW), Shinhan Financial Group (30.1 billion KRW), and Korea Zinc (2.9 billion KRW).
Although it is still early for foreign investors to return to buying, the steep selling trend is expected to somewhat ease. KB Securities researcher Kim Younghwan said, "In the cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), foreign capital re-entry occurred after the daily infection growth rate stabilized at around 1%, regardless of stock price rebounds," adding, "Unlike stock price rebounds, foreign capital moves late after confirming the easing of risk factors." Researcher Kim added, "Currently, South Korea's daily infection growth rate is 9%, and the steep increase has slowed. Although it is still early to expect foreign capital inflows, the steep selling may somewhat calm down."
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