Foreign investors snap up over 1 trillion won in shares, extending five-day buying streak

(Yonhap)
(Yonhap)

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi closed at a new high Friday, breaking and finishing above the 3,600 mark for the first time in history, as foreign investors extended their buying streak.

The index closed up 1.73 percent at 3,610.6, marking its second straight all-time high close.

After a weeklong national holiday that began Oct. 3, the index opened 1.38 percent higher at 3,598.1 and crossed the milestone within minutes, touching 3,605.2 at 9:02 a.m. and peaking at 3,617.86 around 10:05 a.m.

The rally extended the index’s record-breaking run after its Oct. 2 close at 3,549.2, when it breached the 3,500 level for the first time. The latest milestone came less than a month after the index hit 3,400 on Sept. 15, just three sessions after topping 3,300 for the first time in over four years on Sept. 10.

Foreign investors led the rally, snapping up just over 1 trillion won ($704 million) in Kospi shares, and extending their buying streak for the fifth consecutive day. Over the past five sessions, their cumulative net buying reached about 5.5 trillion won.

Retail investors, who began Friday as net buyers, quickly returned to profit-taking, unloading around 500 billion won. That added to roughly 5 trillion won in sales since they turned net sellers on Sept. 29. Institutions also dumped around 600 billion won on Friday.

Semiconductors led the rally, reflecting global gains during Korea’s holiday period. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped 6 percent, while No. 2 SK hynix surged 8.2 percent, pushing their market capitalizations above 550 trillion won and 300 trillion won, respectively.

Their advances tracked those of global chip peers, driving Wall Street’s record-setting rally.

“Advanced Micro Devices and OpenAI announced partnerships, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang underscored rising computing demand over the past six months, easing concerns of an AI bubble,” said Shinhan Securities analyst Lee Jae-won. “The Kospi reflected a series of positive developments in the chip sector that emerged during the holiday period all at once, with gains in semiconductor shares pushing the index to a record high.”

Other major gainers include Doosan Enerbility and Naver also rallied 15 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.

In contrast, among top constituents, LG Energy Solution and Hanwha Aerospace fell sharply, down 9.9 percent and 5 percent. Divergences appeared even within sectors. Samsung Biologics ended just above the flatline while Celltrion fell 1 percent, and, among banks, Shinhan Financial Group rose slightly while KB Financial Group declined 3.4 percent.

The tech-heavy Kosdaq added 0.6 percent to close at 859.5, led by foreigners’ net purchases worth 236.8 billion won, while individuals and institutions together sold nearly 220 billion won.

The Korean won opened at 1,423 per US dollar on the Seoul foreign exchange market, weakening 23 won from the Oct. 2 close, before trimming losses to end the day at 1,410 won.


jwc@heraldcorp.com