Foreigners, 'Palja' for 2 Consecutive Weeks... LG Chem Most Net Bought

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

According to the Korea Exchange on the 10th, foreign investors net sold approximately 873.6 billion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 5th to the 8th. Foreign investors sold 1.0511 trillion KRW in the KOSPI market, while they purchased 177.4 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was LG Chem. Foreign investors net bought LG Chem worth 78 billion KRW last week. This was followed by Celltrion, which they bought for 47 billion KRW. Other net purchases included SK Bioscience (45.3 billion KRW), Hyundai Motor (41.7 billion KRW), Korea Gas Corporation (41.6 billion KRW), SK Innovation (35.8 billion KRW), Iljin Materials (32.5 billion KRW), Celltrion Pharm (31.1 billion KRW), KB Financial Group (28 billion KRW), and Seegene (21.9 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was Samsung Electronics. Foreign investors net sold Samsung Electronics worth 461 billion KRW last week. This was followed by Samsung Electronics Preferred shares, which they sold for 99.5 billion KRW. Other top net sales included Samsung SDI (94.8 billion KRW), KakaoBank (83.2 billion KRW), SK Hynix (82.1 billion KRW), Kakao (61.1 billion KRW), Krafton (60.6 billion KRW), Korean Air (59.5 billion KRW), SK Chemicals (53.1 billion KRW), and LG Innotek (41.4 billion KRW).

The stock market is expected to continue fluctuating around the current index level for the time being. Kim Younghwan, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "As the deadline for the US debt ceiling negotiations is likely to be extended to December, some of the risks in the stock market have been alleviated." However, he added, "Risks such as the Chinese real estate market, global supply chain disruptions remain, and the possibility of a renewed US-China trade dispute is emerging. Therefore, the stock market is expected to continue fluctuating with high volatility around the current index level rather than showing a sharp rebound in the short term."