韩国养老基金连续两周净买入，集中买入半导体大盘股

Pension funds maintained a net buying stance in the stock market for a second consecutive week, focusing on semiconductor stocks. The shift is attributed to easing rebalancing selling pressure from the National Pension Service (NPS) after the KOSPI entered a sharp downturn, falling below the 7,000 level.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 18th, pension funds and others net bought 100.7 billion won worth of stocks in the main bourse this week (from the 13th to the 16th), marking a second straight week of net buying following last week's 8.8 billion won. This week the KOSPI staged a roller-coaster performance, plunging nearly 9% on the 13th before rebounding over two days, then sliding more than 6% again on the 16th. Pension funds had sold off more than 5 trillion won over the two months of May and June, but they have been bargain-hunting amid the recent increase in volatility.
Pension funds' buying was concentrated in large-cap semiconductor stocks. The most heavily net-bought stock this week was SK hynix (000660.KS), with purchases of 141.2 billion won. It was followed by SK Innovation (103.5 billion won), Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) (80.5 billion won), and S-Oil (50.1 billion won) in net buying size. Selective buying also flowed into financial stocks, including Hana Financial Group (105560.KS) (44.7 billion won), Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (000810.KS) (38 billion won), and DB Insurance (26.6 billion won).
By contrast, SK Square topped the net-selling list with 103.3 billion won worth sold. It was followed by net selling of LG Innotek (-60.6 billion won), Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) (-39.1 billion won), Hyundai Rotem (-33.9 billion won), Samsung Life Insurance (032830.KS) (-27.8 billion won), KB Financial Group (-21 billion won), and Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS) (-20.4 billion won). Profit-taking also continued in some leisure stocks such as Paradise and Lotte Tour Development.
Compared with the previous week, pension funds' bargain-hunting stance became even clearer. Last week they net bought SK hynix (110.9 billion won), Samsung Electronics (72 billion won), and S-Oil (79.3 billion won), while heavily disposing of Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-169.4 billion won), SK Square (-138.4 billion won), and Hanwha Ocean (-51.3 billion won). This week too, the pattern of buying the semiconductor "top two" and selling SK Square continued.
Analysts in the market say the effect of eased pressure on the NPS's domestic equity rebalancing is continuing. The NPS recently raised its target weight for domestic stocks to 20.8% from the previous 14.9% and expanded the allowable range for strategic asset allocation (SAA), reducing the burden of having to mechanically dispose of stocks. In addition, as the KOSPI has undergone a sharp correction this month, the domestic equity weight itself has fallen, which is interpreted as reducing the need for further selling compared with before.
Lee Kyung-soo, a researcher at Hana Securities, noted, "From the NPS's standpoint, the current target for the Korean equity weight sits within the 15-27% range, so net-selling rebalancing is no longer needed." He added, "The buying that pension funds engage in during a sharp index decline has theoretical grounds, and it has played a key role in helping form KOSPI bottoms in the past."