Foreign investors’ panic selling in the South Korean stock market is continuing and the ratio of their investment in the KOSPI market hit a 13-month low.
Korea Exchange announced on April 26 that their KOSPI market cap totaled 468,174.4 billion won and the ratio reached 36.83 percent of the aggregate value of the market on April 24.
The ratio, which had been approximately 36 percent early last year, began to rise late last year and reached 39.3 percent on Feb. 24 this year based on expectations for better semiconductor market conditions. However, it has dropped since late February amid the spread of COVID-19.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid from 2,162.84 points to 1,457.64 points from Feb. 21 to March 19. Then, it rebounded to 1,889.01 points on March 24 but foreign investors have continued to sell stocks in the market.
The intensity of their selling is on the decrease. Specifically, the average daily selling amounted to 568.9 billion won last month but is 248.5 billion won this month. According to experts, they are unlikely to switch to net buying in the near future as COVID-19 risks are still prevalent.