“Just when it seemed foreign investors were coming back” ... they dumped 1 trillion won in a day

[Financial News] Foreign investors, who appeared to be returning to the domestic stock market, turned to heavy selling in a single day. After posting net purchases in the KOSPI market over the past week and focusing on bullish bets in the ETF market, they unloaded nearly 1 trillion won worth of shares in a day.
According to the Korea Exchange, foreign investors were net sellers of 978.2 billion won in the KOSPI market on the 23rd. They had made net purchases of 580 billion won over the preceding week (the 16th to the 22nd), but sold off an amount equivalent to 1.7 times that in a single day.
Recently, foreign investors had been buying, fueling hopes of improved market flows. In the ETF market, they also actively bought products betting on gains in domestic benchmark indices and in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
According to Koscom’s ETF Check, products tracking the KOSPI 200 Index took the top three spots in foreign net purchases over the past week (the 16th to the 22nd): “Samsung KODEX 200 ETF” (184.4 billion won), “Mirae Asset TIGER 200 ETF” (124.9 billion won), and “RISE 200” (39 billion won).
Buying also flowed into leveraged ETFs, which can magnify returns when markets rise. Over the same period, foreign investors made net purchases of “KODEX Leverage ETF” worth 35.3 billion won, “KODEX SK Hynix Single-Stock Leverage ETF” worth 26.1 billion won, “TIGER Leverage ETF” worth 18.7 billion won, and “TIGER Samsung Electronics Single-Stock Leverage ETF” worth 16.8 billion won.


Foreign investors had recently been buying not only stocks but also ETFs, raising hopes of a stock-market rebound. But after they swung to heavy net selling today, concerns about market flows are growing again.
Concerns about AI profitability are seen as weighing on the market. U.S. stocks also tumbled overnight, led by technology shares, amid skepticism about AI investment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly higher, up 0.02% from the previous session, while the S&P 500 fell 1.21% and the NASDAQ Composite Index dropped 2.60%.
However, securities analysts believe concerns surrounding AI are excessive. Ryu Seung-min, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said, “Concerns that AI investment may have peaked are creating noise in the stock market in the second half of the year, particularly in the semiconductor sector. But a series of concerns—including China’s rise, deteriorating fundamentals at AI companies, and the possibility of tighter regulation after Trump loses the midterm elections—are exaggerated.”
He went on to say, “Semiconductor supply shortages are unlikely to be resolved in the short term, and macroeconomic conditions are healthier than they were during the dot-com bubble.” He added, “I believe the possibility of the FRS raising its benchmark interest rate once more this year amid persistent inflation uncertainty, along with uncertainties related to the Iran war, has already been sufficiently priced into risk-asset prices.”

[email protected] Seo Min-ji Reporter