Foreign Investors Buy the Most SK Hynix Shares This Year
Continue to Maintain 'Sell' Stance on Samsung Electronics
Top Foreign Net Purchase Stocks Also See High Price Increases
This year as well, foreigners have shown a higher preference for SK Hynix than Samsung Electronics. Foreign investors have continued to show strong demand for SK Hynix, purchasing the most shares since the beginning of the year, while Samsung Electronics has maintained a selling trend, offloading nearly 2 trillion won.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 13th, foreigners have net purchased SK Hynix shares worth 1.7977 trillion won so far this year, making it the most bought stock. Recently, foreigners have net purchased SK Hynix for six consecutive trading days, increasing their holding ratio from 54.71% at the end of last year to 55.81%. Although foreigners sold off more than 390 billion won worth of SK Hynix shares on the 31st of last month amid concerns triggered by DeepSeek, they have since resumed steady buying.
Following last year, foreigners have also been the largest sellers of Samsung Electronics this year, with net sales amounting to 1.9247 trillion won. They sold over 10 trillion won last year, and the selling trend has not yet reversed this year. However, recently, foreigners have net purchased Samsung Electronics for three consecutive days, raising expectations for a buying turnaround. Supported by foreign buying, Samsung Electronics has risen for three consecutive days, recovering to the 55,000 won level.
In addition, foreigners have achieved high returns by purchasing a large number of stocks that have shown strong performance this year. After SK Hynix, they have net purchased NAVER, Hanwha Aerospace, Hyundai Rotem, Hanwha Ocean, Samsung Biologics, Doosan Enerbility, Samyang Foods, and Hyundai Mobis. SK Hynix has risen 14.38% this year, and NAVER has increased by 13.12%. The top 10 net purchased stocks, including Hanwha Aerospace (59.26%), Hyundai Rotem (63.58%), Hanwha Ocean (95.18%), Samsung Biologics (21.92%), Doosan Enerbility (38.18%), Cafe24 (69.32%), Samyang Foods (7.58%), and Hyundai Mobis (2.54%), all showed upward trends, with eight of them recording double-digit gains. The average return of these stocks reached 38%.
Although the performance of stocks net purchased by foreigners is favorable, some experts advise that investors should select stocks based on fundamentals rather than simply following foreign net purchases. Myunggan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "Stocks with a high probability of continued foreign net buying should be selected by considering fundamentals such as earnings momentum and valuation together." He added, "Since the beginning of the year, foreigners have net purchased in shipbuilding, semiconductors, steel, software, hotel & leisure, and utilities sectors. Among these, sectors with a high correlation between stock price increases and foreign net purchase ratios, and with sound fundamentals, are shipbuilding, defense industry, and semiconductors."
Kim Jaeseung, a researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities, predicted, "With sluggish domestic demand and increased external uncertainties, the concentration on sectors favored by foreigners will intensify for the time being, leading to greater polarization in sector and stock performance."
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