Foreign investors dump $6.6 bil. in Samsung Electronics, SK hynix stocks last week

Samsung and SK hynix's corporate logos seen outside their buildings / Yonhap

Foreign investors sold more than 10 trillion won ($6.6 billion) worth of shares in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix last week while extending their net-selling streak in the South Korean stock market to 12 trading sessions, data showed Monday.

Foreigners offloaded a net 5.33 trillion won worth of SK hynix shares and 5.26 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares during the week beginning May 18, according to the data from the Korea Exchange and Yonhap Infomax.

Combined net sales of the two market bellwethers accounted for 73 percent of foreigners' total net selling of Korean stocks, which came to 14.45 trillion won over the cited period.

The selling trend has continued over the past 12 trading sessions since May 7, when foreign investors turned net sellers.

During the 12-session period, foreigners sold a net 19.53 trillion won worth of SK hynix shares and 18.87 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares, accounting for 82.9 percent of their total net selling of 46.34 trillion won.

Last week, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics were also among the most heavily sold stocks by foreign investors.

In contrast, offshore investors increased purchases of robotics and energy storage system (ESS) stocks.

Foreigners bought a net 370 billion won worth of Doosan Robotics shares and 148.9 billion won worth of Samsung SDI shares on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) last week.

On the secondary Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) market, foreigners purchased a net 1.29 trillion won worth of shares last week, including 155.6 billion won in Fadu, a fabless company specializing in storage systems for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, and 128 billion won in Seojin System, an ESS and telecom equipment maker.

The shift came amid strong growth expectations for the global robotics and ESS markets driven by demand related to physical AI and AI data centers.

Analysts said the recent foreign selloff appears to reflect portfolio rebalancing following sharp gains in semiconductor shares, with funds moving into sectors viewed as having greater upside potential.

"Foreign investors may have responded with selling as the share of Korean semiconductor stocks in their portfolios increased sharply due to steep price gains," said Kang Jin-hyuk, an analyst at Shinhan Securities. "They appear to have shifted funds to other stocks where earnings are improving but share prices remain relatively low."