KOSPI Continues Uptrend... Foreigners Net Buying

On the 11th, the KOSPI opened sharply higher influenced by the surge in the New York stock market, shown here at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. On that day, the KOSPI opened at 2466.90, up 64.67 points (2.69%) from the previous trading day. The won-dollar exchange rate started at 1347.5 won, down 30.0 won from the previous trading day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] On the afternoon of the 23rd, the stock market maintained its upward trend amid continued net buying by foreign investors.

As of 1:51 PM, the KOSPI recorded 2415.08, up 0.41% from the previous session. While individual investors, who had shown net buying intentions in the morning, turned to net selling (9.8 billion KRW), and institutions also engaged in net selling (91.6 billion KRW), foreign investors continued net buying worth 79.6 billion KRW, sustaining the index's upward momentum.

Among all listed stocks, 647 stocks showed gains. Among the top market capitalization stocks, except for LG Energy Solution (-1.58%), Samsung Biologics (0.11%), and SK Hynix (0.23%), the rest recorded increases. Samsung Electronics, the unwavering leader of the KOSPI, rose 0.50% to 60,900 KRW compared to the previous day. LG Chem and Samsung SDI also showed gains in the 2% range.

The KOSDAQ also continued its upward trend, recording 723.66, up 1.60% from the previous session. Individual investors took the opportunity for profit-taking after a long time, net selling 131.7 billion KRW. On the other hand, foreign and institutional investors showed net buying intentions of 98.1 billion KRW and 47.5 billion KRW, respectively.

Among all stocks, 1,098 stocks showed gains. Among the top market capitalization stocks, the rise in game and entertainment stocks stood out. Representative examples include Studio Dragon (11.48%), CJ ENM (7.78%), Kakao Games (4.37%), and Pearl Abyss (4.08%).

This rise is analyzed to be due to expectations that China's 'Hanhanryeong' restrictions will be eased or lifted. Last month, director Hong Sangsoo's film Gangbyeon Hotel (2018) began to be serviced under the title Jiangbian Luguan (江邊旅館) on China's largest OTT platform, Tencent Spin, which has raised expectations for the expansion of Korean content's entry into the Chinese market, driving up stock prices.