Foreign investors, who dumped a large amount of Korean stocks last month, returned as buyers in December.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 14th, foreigners made a net purchase of 3.0471 trillion won in stocks on the KOSPI market from the 1st to the 12th.
During this period, the stocks foreigners bought the most were Samsung Electronics (841.6 billion won), SK hynix (791.4 billion won), Hyundai Motor (406.2 billion won), EcoPro (354.9 billion won), and Hanwha Aerospace (268 billion won), in that order.
This is the exact opposite of the trend in November, when, following the "artificial intelligence (AI) bubble" narrative, foreigners dumped 873.09 billion won worth of SK hynix and 222.92 billion won of Samsung Electronics. Last month alone, foreign investors sold more than 14 trillion won in stocks on the KOSPI market.
The shift to net buying by foreigners is attributed to the "AI bubble" debate calming to some extent and the won-to-dollar exchange rate showing a relatively stable trend around the 1,470-won level against the U.S. dollar.
In contrast, individual investors, who bought 928.75 billion won worth of stocks last month alone, turned net sellers this month to the tune of 549.64 billion won.
Kim Jae-seung, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, said, "Compared with November, concerns about an AI bubble and the volatility of the won-dollar exchange rate are easing, and expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) are leading to a weaker dollar, which could translate into a more stable exchange rate."
He added, "Foreign capital could become more active around the end of the year and the start of the new year."