Individual investors posted the largest net purchases in Korea's stock market in eight months.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 28th, individuals bought 2.357 trillion won worth of stocks (including ETFs and ETNs) on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets that day. It was the largest one-day amount since the 2.6868 trillion won net buying recorded on Feb. 28.
Among the top stocks by individual net buying, the No. 1 was SK hynix, with 1.441 trillion won purchased. Next were ▲Samsung Electronics 728 billion won ▲Samsung SDI 512 billion won ▲Doosan Fuel Cell 469 billion won ▲Doosan Enerbility 439 billion won ▲ROBOSTAR 383 billion won.
Individuals appeared to view the pullback as a buying opportunity and moved to invest. The KOSPI index topped 4,000 for the first time ever the previous day, but foreigners took large profits that day, briefly pushing it below 4,000 intraday. It recovered slightly late in the session and closed at 4,010.41, down 32.42 points (0.8%) from the day before. The KOSDAQ index held the 900 level with a slight gain despite foreigners' selling.
Individuals moved to "buy" whenever the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indexes underwent corrections. On Feb. 28 and Apr. 7, when concerns mounted over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff imposition, and on Aug. 1, when the Lee Jae-myung administration's tax reform plan came under scrutiny, they posted net purchases of more than 2 trillion won on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. As a result, as the market rebounded, the "buy the dip (buy on a short-term decline)" strategy has worked.
FOMO (fear of missing out) also appeared to play a role. As the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indexes rose steeply, individuals continued to sell. Individuals had accumulated net purchases of 16.8245 trillion won through Apr. 22 this year, but then turned to "sell." From Apr. 23 through the previous day, cumulative net sales reached 15.5843 trillion won.
Liquidity is seen as ample. Investor deposits, regarded as sidelined funds for the stock market, surpassed 80 trillion won for the first time ever this month, and margin loan balances topped 24 trillion won, hitting record levels.
For the KOSPI index, the forward price-earnings ratio (PER, market capitalization ÷ net income) is high enough to rank in the top 90% historically, but it is not seen as overheated. Kang Song-cheol, a researcher at EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, said, "Since September, earnings forecasts for the KOSPI market for this year and 2026 have been sharply revised upward, centered on semiconductors," and added, "Considering earnings and the appropriate KOSPI index level, it would be hard to say the current level is excessive."