Individual investors who had been buying Samsung Electronics and SK hynix turned to selling this month. It is the first time in five months.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 13th, individuals made net sales of about 521.2 billion won of Samsung Electronics and about 781.8 billion won of SK hynix from the start of the month through the 11th. The trend of supporting the lower bound of share prices by net buying the two stocks for four straight months from May to August has turned.
Individuals' buying strength in semiconductor stocks had already weakened. Net purchases of Samsung Electronics peaked at 1.7119 trillion won in June, then shrank to 504.7 billion won in July and 203.8 billion won in August. SK hynix also fell from the 1.5 trillion won range in May–June to 901 billion won in July and 107.4 billion won in August.
Late last week, OpenAI unveiled a new AI model, "Astra," fueling expectations for high-capacity memory demand, but individuals moved away from semiconductor stocks instead. Since the third quarter began, KOSPI's upward momentum has slowed, and regulations on single-stock leveraged ETFs for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are seen as curbing investment demand.
Funds shifted to U.S. tech stocks. As the won-dollar exchange rate fell to the mid-1,300 won range, reducing exchange costs, individuals snapped up Alphabet (98.6 billion won), Broadcom (87.7 billion won), and Meta (72.8 billion won) this month. All three made the top 10 in individual net purchases of overseas stocks this month.
Foreign investors also posted net sales of 196 billion won each in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix this month, extending their net selling for a fifth straight month. As both individuals and foreigners pulled back at the same time, the supply-demand burden on semiconductor stocks increased.
Other corporations propped up the lower bound of share prices. Affected by the two companies' share buybacks, other corporations bought 465.8 billion won of Samsung Electronics and 989 billion won of SK hynix this month. With larger net purchases, SK hynix rose 8.24% this month, while Samsung Electronics fell 0.19%, showing a mixed picture.
A person in the securities industry said, "Considering AI demand, investing in semiconductor stocks is still valid," but added, "In the third quarter, a stronger won could weigh on earnings, and as semiconductor leadership weakens, individuals' buying of semiconductor stocks also seems to have softened."