Since the war between the United States and Iran, the KOSPI index has rebounded this month, breaking above the 6,500 level intraday for the first time ever, while individual investors appear to have launched large-scale selling. Individual investors have dumped more than 14 trillion won this month.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 26th, individual investors recorded a net sell of 14.767 trillion won in the main board through the 24th of this month.
On a monthly basis, the figure has already surpassed the all-time record net sell set in September last year. Back in September last year, individuals dumped 10.4858 trillion won in the KOSPI market. If this net selling persists through the end of the month, analysts say it is highly likely to set a new all-time monthly record.
By month this year, individuals, who were net sellers of about 400 billion won in January, turned to net "buy" of more than 4 trillion won in February. They then sharply expanded their purchases to the 33 trillion won range last month.
But starting this month, they switched back to "sell." That contrasts with foreigners' net buying of 2.53 trillion won in the KOSPI market this month. Powered by foreigners' net purchases, the KOSPI index has surged 28% this month.
On the 21st, the KOSPI index broke the record high set before the outbreak of the war between the United States and Iran, for the first time in two months, and then notched record highs for three straight sessions through the 23rd.
Individuals appear to have viewed the recent rebound as an opportunity to take profits and sold heavily. In particular, they moved to take profits in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which recently hit record highs.
According to the exchange, through the 24th of this month the stock that individuals net sold the most in the KOSPI market was Samsung Electronics, showing a sell bias of 6.581 trillion won. SK hynix was also net sold to the tune of 2.498 trillion won, the second most. Sixty-two percent of individuals' net selling this month was concentrated in these two stocks.
By contrast, individual investors are also seen betting on a decline in the KOSPI index. According to financial data provider Yonhap Infomax, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) that individuals net bought the most through the 24th of this month was "KODEX 200 Futures Inverse 2X," with purchases of 540.2 billion won. This product tracks twice the inverse of the KOSPI 200 futures index's daily return, generating gains when the KOSPI index falls.
Individuals also net bought the "KODEX Inverse" and "TIGER Inverse" ETFs by 165.6 billion won and 6.3 billion won, respectively.