Foreigners Become 'Saja' in 6 Weeks... Selling KOSPI and Buying KOSDAQ

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Foreign investors have returned to a buying trend in the domestic stock market after six weeks. While they continued to 'sell' on the KOSPI, the scale of selling significantly decreased, and they showed 'buying' on the KOSDAQ.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 7th, foreign investors net purchased about 383.6 billion KRW in the domestic stock market during the week from the 1st to the 5th. Foreign investors sold 10 billion KRW on the KOSPI market but bought 393.6 billion KRW on the KOSDAQ market.

The stock most purchased by foreign investors last week was Samsung SDI. Foreign investors net bought Samsung SDI worth 174.9 billion KRW last week. This was followed by Kakao, which they bought for 163 billion KRW. Other net purchases included Kia (153 billion KRW), SK Hynix (121.2 billion KRW), EcoPro BM (117.7 billion KRW), Hyundai Motor (106.5 billion KRW), HMM (67.3 billion KRW), Naver (NAVER·61.8 billion KRW), KT&G (60.8 billion KRW), and SK (60.6 billion KRW).

The stock most sold by foreign investors last week was KakaoPay. Foreign investors net sold KakaoPay for 286.4 billion KRW last week. This was followed by Samsung Electronics, which they sold for 130.2 billion KRW. Other top net sales included POSCO (116.7 billion KRW), KakaoBank (112.5 billion KRW), LG Chem (102.1 billion KRW), Hotel Shilla (101.3 billion KRW), NCSoft (92.3 billion KRW), Shinhan Financial Group (59.4 billion KRW), Woori Technology Investment (36.2 billion KRW), and AfreecaTV (32.8 billion KRW).

The KOSPI is expected to continue trading within a box range centered around the 3000 level for the time being. Kim Younghwan, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "The key to rising stock prices in emerging markets is the resolution of global supply chain disruptions, but more time is still needed. At this point, short-term trading issues include energy supply instability due to cold wave concerns, expectations for expanded overseas travel during the winter vacation season following the phased transition to daily recovery (With Corona), and improved investment sentiment in eco-friendly sectors following the agreement at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26)."