Foreigners, 'Lions' for 4 Consecutive Weeks... LG Chem Most Purchased

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors continued their buying spree in the domestic stock market for four consecutive weeks.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 29th, foreign investors net purchased approximately 2.4452 trillion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 23rd to the 27th. They bought 2.0052 trillion KRW in the KOSPI market and 439.8 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market, respectively.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was LG Chem. Foreign investors net bought 524.3 billion KRW worth of LG Chem last week. This was followed by Samsung Electronics, which they purchased for 242.1 billion KRW. Other stocks net purchased included Celltrion (149.5 billion KRW), Naver (NAVER·107.8 billion KRW), Samsung SDI (100.2 billion KRW), Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (98.4 billion KRW), Hyundai Motor (95.7 billion KRW), SK Hynix (91.2 billion KRW), KB Financial Group (85.6 billion KRW), and Kakao (83.4 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was Samsung Electronics Preferred shares. Foreign investors net sold 309.8 billion KRW worth of Samsung Electronics Preferred shares last week. This was followed by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, which they sold for 57.9 billion KRW. Other stocks among the top net sales by foreign investors included BNK Financial Group (51.9 billion KRW), KT&G (35.7 billion KRW), POSCO International (23.4 billion KRW), Amorepacific Preferred shares (22.4 billion KRW), Kia Motors (19.7 billion KRW), Dongwha Pharm (15.5 billion KRW), LG Innotek (14.7 billion KRW), and Kangwon Land (14.1 billion KRW).

With foreign investors' buying pressure pushing the KOSPI to a record high, there are opinions that there is still room for further gains in the KOSPI. Kim Jungwon, a researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities, said, "In terms of the dollar-converted KOSPI, it is still 4.2% below the previous peak," adding, "From the foreign investors' perspective based on the dollar-converted KOSPI, there is room for further upside until the previous peak."