Foreigners Hold 'Palja' for 4 Consecutive Weeks... Kosdaq Turns to Buying in Just One Week

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors continued their selling streak in the domestic stock market for the fourth consecutive week. However, in the KOSDAQ market, they returned to a 'buy' position after just one week.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 5th, foreign investors net sold approximately 271.1 billion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 29th of last month to the 3rd of this month. They sold 471.9 billion KRW in the KOSPI market but purchased 212.8 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was Kakao. Foreign investors net bought Kakao worth 131.9 billion KRW last week. This was followed by Samsung Electronics, which they bought for 56.0 billion KRW. Other stocks they net purchased included Samsung Electronics Preferred (52.8 billion KRW), Seegene (51.3 billion KRW), POSCO (40.3 billion KRW), LG Household & Health Care (39.0 billion KRW), Hugel (38.5 billion KRW), Celltrion Pharm (36.4 billion KRW), SK Telecom (32.3 billion KRW), and Alteogen (28.0 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was SK. Foreign investors net sold SK worth 122.9 billion KRW last week. This was followed by Samsung Biologics, which they sold for 106.1 billion KRW. Other stocks among the top foreign net sales included SK Biopharm (99.4 billion KRW), Naver (69.7 billion KRW), Korea Electric Power Corporation (69.3 billion KRW), Hotel Shilla (40.7 billion KRW), Samsung SDI (38.0 billion KRW), Hyundai Motor (37.4 billion KRW), LG Uplus (33.8 billion KRW), and Kia Motors (30.2 billion KRW).

The stock market is expected to fluctuate within a narrow range for the time being. Kim Younghwan, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "In the short term, the market is likely to show fluctuations within a narrow range without a clear direction," explaining that "this is because two variables?the improvement in U.S. economic indicators and the resurgence of COVID-19?are conflicting." Researcher Kim added, "In a situation where the index direction is unclear, an alpha strategy focusing on stock-specific differentiation is important," and "attention should be paid to government policy events in early July, as the Korean New Deal policy is expected to stimulate valuation rerating of stocks in the digital and eco-friendly sectors."