In July, foreign investors sold off over 12 trillion won in South Korean stocks, with Samsung and SK Hynix experiencing a stark contrast in fortunes.

According to data from the Korea Exchange, foreign investors net sold approximately 12.44 trillion won of South Korean stocks from July 1st to 16th. This includes a net sell-off of 12.10 trillion won in the KOSPI market and 338.1 billion won in the KOSDAQ market. During the same period, foreign investors bucked the trend by net purchasing around 593.7 billion won in Korean ETFs. Notably, ETFs tracking the KOSPI 200 index and inverse ETFs betting on a market downturn were both among the top net purchases by foreign investors. This suggests that foreign capital is not unilaterally bearish on the market but is instead hedging risks and responding to market volatility through a combination of long and short products.

Regarding individual stock leveraged ETFs, foreign investors showed a divergent attitude towards Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, treating the two companies in starkly opposite ways. From July 1st to 16th, foreign investors net purchased 22.7 billion won in single-stock leveraged ETFs for Samsung Electronics, while net selling a substantial 122.1 billion won in SK Hynix-related leveraged ETFs. (Etoday)