Foreign exodus feared to dampen stock sentiment in March

• Published date: 06 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Korean stocks will take a rollercoaster ride throughout March following an unexpected exodus last week of foreign investors who refrain from betting big on local stocks amid prevailing market uncertainties ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming rate-setting meeting, analysts said Monday.

The main bourse has been trapped in a boxed range of between 2,400 and 2,500 points since February after extending a winning streak early this year. But after foreign investors shifted their position to selling Korean stocks later last month, overall investor sentiment seems to be dampening at an alarming pace.

According to data from the Korea Exchange, foreign investors sold local shares worth 770.2 billion won ($594 million) between Feb. 20 and 24, their first weekly selling spree since the beginning of 2023. They went on to dump local shares worth 260.1 billion won last week under the mounting burden of a widening interest gap between Korea and the U.S. after the Bank of Korea (BOK) froze its benchmark rate at 3.5 percent.

Analysts said the Korean stock market is standing at a critical juncture amid lingering macroeconomic uncertainties here and abroad.

"The movement of the stock market changed frequently in line with the results of major economic indexes and the Fed's position shift," Kiwoom Securities analyst Han...