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

Foreign investors 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 data from the Korea Exchange and Yonhap Infomax.

Combined net sales of the two market heavyweights accounted for 73 percent of foreigners’ total net selling of Korean stocks, which reached 14.45 trillion won during the 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 stretch, foreigners sold a net 19.53 trillion won worth of SK hynix shares and 18.87 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares, representing 82.9 percent of their total net selling of 46.34 trillion won.

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

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

Foreign investors 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 specialising in storage systems for artificial intelligence data centres, and 128 billion won in Seojin System, an ESS and telecom equipment manufacturer.

The shift came amid strong growth expectations for the global robotics and ESS markets, driven by rising demand linked to physical AI and AI data centres.

Analysts said the recent foreign selloff appears to reflect portfolio rebalancing after sharp gains in semiconductor stocks, with funds moving into sectors considered to have 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. “They appear to have shifted funds to other stocks where earnings are improving but share prices remain relatively low.”

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev