Foreigners take profits after longest 14-day buying streak in Korean stocks

Foreign investors took profits after keeping up record-long buying streak in Korean stocks for 14 straight days this month, boding badly for the Korean markets against little news for upside.

Offshore investors on Thursday net sold 152.9 billion won ($134.5 million) worth stocks in Korea’s main Kospi bourse and 73.4 billion won worth in junior Kosdaq bourse. Bellwether Samsung Electronics shares made the bulk - 117.5 billion won worth.

The Kospi finished the day 1.43 percent lower at 2,213.77, and the Kosdaq 1.74 percent down at 753.52. The Futures market also turned bearish with offshore investors net selling 407.3 billion won worth.

Foreign investors net purchased Korean stocks for 14 straight sessions, the longest net-buying spree in history. Their net buying reached 2.74 trillion won - 2.56 trillion won in Kospi and 170 billion won in Kosdaq.

The weakening Korean won against the U.S. dollar also trigged their sell-off, market analysts said. The Korean won fell 2.1 to close at 1,136.9 won against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after the Bank of Korea cut its outlook for this year’s economic growth to a seven-year low while keeping its policy rate unchanged for more accommodative rates in the face of worsened economic conditions.

Foreign buying started to slow down on Wednesday with their net purchase reaching only 76.0 billion won against 153.9 billion won on Tuesday. Market experts are closely watching whether offshore investors have completely changed their stance on Korean stocks.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]