South Korea’s flagship KOSPI index fell hard this week as foreign investors pulled out a record $5 billion, according to the Korea Exchange.
From Monday through Friday, overseas buyers dumped a net 7.26 trillion won (about US$4.98 billion) of KOSPI shares— the largest weekly sell‐off by foreign investors in the index’s history. It tops the previous record of 7.05 trillion won set in August 2021.
The market’s volatility rose sharply last week. The KOSPI rose to a record high above 4,200 points on Monday, then slid nearly 3 % on Wednesday. A brief rebound on Thursday was followed by a 1.81 % dip on Friday, closing just below the 4,000‑point level.
Earlier in the month, the KOSPI had been the fastest‑growing major stock index among G20 nations, thanks to strong foreign buying of blue‑chip stocks, especially semiconductors. That rally triggered profit‑taking as investors sensed the risk of an artificial‑intelligence (AI) stock bubble—a concern that also weighed on Wall Street last week.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were the main targets of foreign divestments, together accounting for more than 70 % of the sell‑off. Foreigners unloaded 1.5 trillion won of Samsung shares and 3.7 trillion won of SK Hynix shares.
Analysts attribute the sell‑off to a mix of factors. Chung Hae‑chang of Daishin Securities said that the U.S. government shutdown— the longest in history— has added economic uncertainty, weakening investor confidence and keeping the market in a consolidation phase. Lee Sung‑hoon of Kiwoom Securities pointed out that the Korean won’s weakness, falling below 1,450 won per U.S. dollar for the first time in nearly seven months, has also made foreign investors less eager to buy KOSPI shares.
Overall, the week’s trend suggests that, for now, the market will likely remain on sideways footing while investors reassess the growth prospects amid global economic and technology‑sector uncertainties.
Source: ianslive
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