"Samsung Electronics Seen at 590,000 Won" Foreign Investors Dump 35 Trillion Won, Retail Investors Absorb It All... Can They Turn the Market Green Again Today?

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[The Financial News] KOSPI is adding volatility as foreign investors take profits on a massive scale while retail investors use the selloff as a buying opportunity. In particular, foreign selling has hit Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the two flagship stocks of the domestic market. Analysts say the sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields has become the key trigger behind the foreign exodus.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 19th, foreign investors began net selling 669.86 billion won on the 7th, the day after KOSPI reached 7,000 points, and went on to sell a total of 35.731 trillion won over eight consecutive trading days.
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The foreign selling was concentrated on the domestic semiconductor giants. Over the period, SK hynix topped the list of net sold stocks by foreign investors at 16.9 trillion won, followed by Samsung Electronics at 15.1 trillion won. In total, roughly 32 trillion won in shares was dumped in just those two names.
Even so, the index’s decline was limited despite the aggressive foreign selling. Retail investors viewed the pullback as a buying opportunity and absorbed large volumes, helping to support the market.
Optimistic forecasts from the brokerage industry have also fueled retail sentiment. Nomura Securities recently raised its target price for Samsung Electronics to 590,000 won and for SK hynix to 4 million won.
Backed by strong retail buying, Samsung Electronics is now trying to break above the 300,000-won level, trading between 270,000 won and 290,000 won on a closing basis. SK hynix has also climbed closer to the 2 million-won mark, finishing higher on all but three of the eight trading days despite foreign investors selling for eight straight sessions.
The pattern was especially clear in the market on the 18th. Samsung Electronics fell more than 3% in early trading, while SK hynix dropped as much as 4%, but retail and institutional investors absorbed all the selling and engineered a dramatic rebound. Samsung Electronics turned higher around 10 a.m., when the National Labor Relations Commission began its second post-mediation meeting, and closed up 3.88%. SK hynix also sank to the 1.7 million-won range before reversing intraday.
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Market experts warn that the relentless foreign selling should not be dismissed as simple profit-taking at a market peak. They say the root cause lies in a worsening global macroeconomic environment.
Geopolitical uncertainty has intensified because of the war in Iran, pushing international oil prices back above $100 per barrel. At the same time, the United States' April Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 6.0% from a year earlier, the highest level since 2022. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) also climbed 3.8%, marking the sharpest increase in nearly three years, adding to the inflation shock.
As inflation fears have resurfaced, U.S. Treasury yields have been surging. In the afternoon of the 18th Korea time, the 30-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield briefly jumped to 5.16%, its highest level since October 2023. The 10-year Treasury bond yield, a global benchmark for long-term rates, stood at 4.63%, while the 2-year Treasury note, which is more sensitive to monetary policy, reached 4.10%. Both were at their highest levels since February last year.
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter