Bought by Individual Investors
Foreign investors showed a substantial net sell-off of approximately 1.35 trillion won (US$1.06 billion) in the equity market. Despite the foreign selling pressure, the market experienced a slight uptick, primarily driven by robust net buying from individual investors.
According to Korea Exchange on July 25, the KOSPI index closed at 2,636.46, up 0.30 percent from the previous trading day.
Foreign investors vigorously offloaded a staggering 1.35 trillion won worth of equities on this particular day. This marked the largest net sell-off since 1.19 trillion won on March 7 of the preceding year. While foreign investors have been net sellers since March this year, with net selling totaling around 973.2 billion won, the current instance of selling exceeding 1 trillion won in a single day stands as an unprecedented event.
Industry observers analyzed that foreign buying sentiment shifted to the Chinese market following the disclosure of robust stimulus measures by the Chinese government. Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, “The prevailing optimism surrounding the policy announcements from China’s Politburo meeting in July led to the strong performance of major Chinese indices. Foreign investors showed the largest net buying amount since 18.6 billion yuan [US$2.61 billion] on January 30 of this year, surpassing 17.3 billion yuan.”
Simultaneously, the U.S. market sustained its bullish trend, with the Dow Jones index achieving an 11-day consecutive upward close. This notable feat marks the lengthiest uninterrupted streak of gains since February 2017, spanning over 6 years and 5 months.
Conversely, individual investors spearheaded the ascent of the KOSPI index by acquiring equities worth 1.37 trillion won on this day, defying the record net sell-off conducted by foreign investors. In contrast, institutions exhibited net selling with equities valued at 69.8 billion won.
Within the KOSDAQ market, a surge in foreign buying interest materialized, driven by the impressive performance of secondary battery and entertainment-related stocks. This influx of foreign investment led to a noteworthy surge of over 1 percent in the KOSDAQ index, which concluded the trading session at 939.96, representing a 1.08 percent upswing from the preceding trading day. Foreign investors demonstrated a considerable net buying amount of 386.5 billion won, while individuals sold equities amounting to 424.2 billion won.