Foreign investors’ net buying of Korean stocks hits 17-month high

Foreign investors recorded a 17-month high in net buying of stocks listed on South Korea’s benchmark index, pumping 6.28 trillion won ($4.52 billion) into the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) in July. This marked the largest monthly net buying since February 2023, when the figure reached 7.858 trillion won.

According to data from the Korea Exchange on Sunday, foreign investors turned net sellers in August 2024, continuing this trend for nine consecutive months through April. However, in May, they shifted to net buying by about 1 trillion won, maintaining this position for three consecutive months through July.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, this increase in foreign buying is attributed to optimism about government measures to stimulate the stock market and positive news about Samsung Electronics’ signing of a large-scale supply agreement with the American company Tesla. Samsung shares topped the list of most foreign buyers, with a net purchase of 3.49 trillion won, accounting for 56% of the total net purchases. Shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean followed with a net purchase of 858 billion won.