Foreigners Buy 'Saja' for 2 Consecutive Weeks... Samsung Electronics Most Purchased

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors showed buying momentum in the domestic stock market for two consecutive weeks. For two weeks in a row, they bought the most Samsung Electronics shares.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 26th, foreign investors net purchased about 636.1 billion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 23rd to the 24th. Foreign investors bought 659.5 billion KRW in the KOSPI market but sold 23.4 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was Samsung Electronics. Foreign investors net bought Samsung Electronics shares worth 246.1 billion KRW last week. Next, they bought LG Chem shares worth 180.6 billion KRW. Other net purchases included SK Innovation (77.9 billion KRW), SK Bioscience (53.6 billion KRW), Krafton (52.3 billion KRW), Korean Air (51.9 billion KRW), Kakao (35.8 billion KRW), Naver (NAVER·35.7 billion KRW), Celltrion (27.4 billion KRW), and Shinhan Financial Group (27.2 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was Hyundai Heavy Industries. Foreign investors net sold Hyundai Heavy Industries shares worth 50.8 billion KRW last week. Next, they sold SK Hynix shares worth 44.4 billion KRW. Other top net sales by foreign investors included Doosan Heavy Industries (32.5 billion KRW), Hyundai Mobis (28.9 billion KRW), Hyundai Steel (23.0 billion KRW), NCSoft (21.7 billion KRW), Hyundai Rotem (21.4 billion KRW), LG Display (19.6 billion KRW), Samsung Engineering (19.2 billion KRW), and KT&G (16.0 billion KRW).

To sustain the improvement in foreign investors' supply and demand, it is necessary for the risk of weakening fundamental conditions to subside. According to KTB Investment & Securities, foreign investors' trend in the KOSPI since September recorded 1.3 trillion KRW as of the 23rd, marking a net buying reversal for the first time in five months. Monthly net purchases by foreign investors are the second this year, following 400 billion KRW in April. Park Seokhyun, a researcher at KTB Investment & Securities, said, "For the improvement in foreign investors' supply and demand in the domestic stock market to be sustained rather than a one-time flow, the risk of weakening fundamental conditions needs to subside, but it is not sufficient yet. This is a necessary and sufficient condition for the KOSPI rebound attempt to have continuity, so continuous attention is needed going forward."