Foreign investors sold over $6.6 billion worth of shares in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix last week, marking 12 consecutive trading sessions of net-selling in the South Korean stock market. Specifically, they offloaded a net $5.33 billion worth of SK hynix shares and $5.26 billion worth of Samsung Electronics shares during the week starting May 18. This selling spree accounted for 73% of foreigners’ total net selling of Korean stocks, totaling $14.45 billion over the mentioned period.
The trend of selling has persisted over the past 12 trading sessions since May 7, with foreigners selling a net $19.53 billion worth of SK hynix shares and $18.87 billion worth of Samsung Electronics shares during this period. These sales made up 82.9% of their total net selling of $46.34 billion.
In addition to Samsung and SK hynix, other heavily sold stocks by foreign investors last week included Hyundai Mobis Co., Hyundai Motor Co., LG Electronics Inc., and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. On the flip side, offshore investors increased their purchases of robotics and energy storage system (ESS) stocks.
Foreigners bought a net $370 million worth of Doosan Robotics Inc. shares and $148.9 million worth of Samsung SDI Co. shares on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) last week. Moreover, on the secondary Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) market, foreigners acquired a net $1.29 billion worth of shares, including investments in Fadu Inc. and Seojin System Co.
The shift in investment focus towards robotics and ESS stocks reflects strong growth expectations in these markets driven by demand related to physical AI and AI data centers. Analysts attribute the recent foreign selloff to portfolio rebalancing following significant gains in semiconductor shares, with funds being redirected to sectors perceived to offer higher growth potential.
