Foreigners Hold 'Saja' in Just 4 Weeks... POSCO Most Purchased

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors have returned to 'buying' in the domestic stock market after 4 weeks.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 14th, foreign investors net purchased about 2.1203 trillion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 8th to the 12th. They bought 1.936 trillion KRW in the KOSPI market and 184.1 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market, respectively.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was POSCO. Foreign investors net bought POSCO for 365.9 billion KRW last week. This was followed by LG Chem with 322.1 billion KRW. Other stocks net purchased included SK Hynix (149.9 billion KRW), Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (114.9 billion KRW), Kia Motors (101.1 billion KRW), SK Telecom (96.7 billion KRW), Hana Financial Group (78.7 billion KRW), Shinhan Financial Group (76.5 billion KRW), NCSoft (62.1 billion KRW), and Samsung Electronics (57.4 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was Samsung Electronics Preferred Shares. Foreign investors net sold Samsung Electronics Preferred Shares for 75.3 billion KRW last week. This was followed by LG Electronics with 57.5 billion KRW sold. Other stocks in the top net sales by foreign investors included Big Hit (56.3 billion KRW), OCI (54.9 billion KRW), Samsung Biologics (46.0 billion KRW), SK Biopharm (39.6 billion KRW), Lotte Chemical (34.2 billion KRW), DB HiTek (31.3 billion KRW), Fila Holdings (29.7 billion KRW), and NAVER (25.7 billion KRW).

Considering the shift to net buying by foreign investors, there is an opinion that attention should be paid to the semiconductor and automobile sectors. Lee Jaeman, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, said, "Since March, foreign investors have switched to net buying in the domestic stock market," adding, "If the variables in investment strategy are seen as the decline in the KRW-USD exchange rate and the shift to net buying by foreign investors, it is necessary to consider not only the intensity of foreign net buying according to changes in the KRW-USD exchange rate level but also changes in operating profit estimates and price-earnings ratios."

He added, "If the KRW-USD exchange rate falls (KRW strengthens) at the level of 1125~1150 KRW, the sectors with high price-earnings ratios, upwardly revised operating profit estimates, and relatively strong foreign net buying intensity, but which have been net sold recently (from December last year to March this year), the first sectors of interest can be identified as semiconductors and automobiles."