Foreigners, 'Palja' for 2 Consecutive Weeks... Selling Samsung Electronics and Buying LG Chem

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors continued their selling trend in the domestic stock market for two consecutive weeks.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 2nd, foreign investors sold a net total of approximately 1.2937 trillion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 26th to the 30th of last month. This marked two consecutive weeks of selling exceeding 1 trillion KRW. They sold 949.7 billion KRW in the KOSPI market and 343.8 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market, respectively.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was LG Chem. Foreign investors net bought LG Chem worth 702.9 billion KRW last week. This was followed by SK Innovation with 96.1 billion KRW purchased. Other net purchases included Shinhan Financial Group (90.9 billion KRW), Korea Financial Group (71.0 billion KRW), Hana Financial Group (63.3 billion KRW), LG Chem Preferred Shares (52.1 billion KRW), HYBE (48.4 billion KRW), Hyundai Glovis (40.9 billion KRW), Amorepacific (40.2 billion KRW), and SK Telecom (38.7 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was Samsung Electronics. Foreign investors net sold Samsung Electronics worth 678.3 billion KRW last week. They also sold Samsung Electronics Preferred Shares worth 257.1 billion KRW. Other top net sales included SK Hynix (242.0 billion KRW), Hyundai Mobis (229.2 billion KRW), Kia (128.1 billion KRW), Doosan Fuel Cell (68.7 billion KRW), Hyundai Motor (65.1 billion KRW), LG Display (64.6 billion KRW), LG (60.7 billion KRW), and Celltrion (52.9 billion KRW).

The resumption of short selling from the 3rd is analyzed to be a positive change from the perspective of foreign investor supply and demand. Lee Kyungmin, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "The resumption of short selling can be a factor disrupting investment sentiment and supply-demand, but it is seen as a positive change from the perspective of foreign investor supply and demand," adding, "This is because the resumption of selling allows the inflow of various types of global funds such as active funds, hedge funds, and long-short funds." The influence of foreign investors on the stock market is also expected to expand further. The researcher explained, "From the perspective that funds reflecting fund managers' views come in to offset the volume held by individual investors, the impact of foreign net buying on stock prices and the stock market will increase."