KOSPI sees net foreign buying for 8 months

Offshore investors have kept buying Korean stocks for eight consecutive months on ample liquidity, marking the longest buying streak in seven years, the main bourse operator said Sunday.

Foreigners have purchased a total of 12.87 trillion won ($11.43 billion) worth of stocks in the main KOSPI market from Feb. 1 to Sept. 9, the Korea Exchange said.

Overseas investors bought 4 trillion won in July alone when major economies rolled out quantitative easing measures in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, the KRX said. 

The buying streak is the longest since 2009 when foreigners loaded local equities for 11 straight months on signs of a global economic recovery, it noted.

SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, was top on their shopping list, as foreigners bought a combined 1.26 trillion won of their shares in total over the period, helping its share price rise 42.7 percent.

Naver, the nation's top portal operator, leading cosmetic maker AmorePacific and steel maker POSCO were also popular among overseas investors, the bourse operator said.

Analysts say it remains unclear whether the foreign capital inflow could continue in the coming months, awaiting the rate-setting meeting in the United States slated for later this week for clues on its monetary policy.

"The currency value of emerging markets remains strong and the ample liquidity has not yet shown signs of leaving such markets," Kim Sung-hwan, an analyst at Bookook Securities, said. "So far, risk indicators in the global financial market remain in a comfortable range." (Yonhap)