Foreigners, 'Palja' for 4 Consecutive Weeks... Buy HYBE, Sell SK Innovation

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

According to the Korea Exchange on the 4th, foreign investors net sold approximately 417.9 billion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 28th of last month to the 2nd of this month. Foreign investors sold 542.2 billion KRW in the KOSPI market but purchased 125.2 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was HYBE. Foreign investors net bought HYBE for 266.6 billion KRW last week. This was followed by LG Chem with a net purchase of 202.4 billion KRW. Other net purchases included Samsung SDI (136.5 billion KRW), Naver (NAVER·66.7 billion KRW), SK Bioscience (65.3 billion KRW), LG Household & Health Care (50.3 billion KRW), SK IE Technology (36.7 billion KRW), Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (34.2 billion KRW), Hanmi Semiconductor (32.6 billion KRW), and HMM (32.5 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was SK Innovation. Foreign investors net sold SK Innovation for 375.2 billion KRW last week. This was followed by Kakao, which was sold for 240.4 billion KRW. Other top net sales included Samsung Electronics (227.8 billion KRW), Samsung Electronics Preferred (193.5 billion KRW), SK Hynix (91.0 billion KRW), KB Financial Group (88.7 billion KRW), Hyundai Mobis (79.8 billion KRW), Samsung Engineering (55.4 billion KRW), Celltrion (53.9 billion KRW), and Shinpung Pharmaceutical (53.4 billion KRW).

The stock market is expected to continue a gradual upward trend. Kim Younghwan, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "Domestic and international factors such as the U.S. economy, strong Korean exports, and second-quarter earnings outlook are positive for the stock market," adding, "The factor suppressing the market is concerns over the spread of COVID-19 variants, but what matters more than the increase in total confirmed cases or breakthrough infections among vaccinated individuals is the increase in severe cases and mortality rates."