Still Attractive
It has been found that foreign investors have veered to net purchase in the South Korean stock market in spite of the likelihood of an interest rate hike in the United States.
In the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market, foreign investors recorded a net buy of 2.8 billion won (US$24.3 million) as of 10:09 am, August 29. This year, they recorded a net buy of more than nine trillion won until August 23, but veered to net selling on the following day with the probability of an interest rate hike in the U.S. on the rise and continued to sell their stocks for three days in a row to post a net selling of 500 billion won (US$434.7 billion) or so.
Last week, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Janet L. Yellen hinted at an interest rate increase within this year at the Jackson Hole Meeting. This triggered concerns over a sizeable net selling by foreign investors in the South Korean stock market. However, no significant negative movement was witnessed until the morning of August 29.
As of the time (10:09 am), foreign securities companies such as UBS, CS and CLSA were found on the buying side with regard to Samsung Electronics stocks. The index fell to 2,020 points or so in the early stage of the session but rebounded to 2,030 points soon.