South Korea's top-performing retail investors sold off the country's leading chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as the KOSPI plunged more than 6% intraday and fell below the 6,000 mark. At the same time, they moved to buy the dip in heavily beaten-down names such as LG Electronics and APR.
SK hynix (000660.KS) was the most heavily net-sold stock among investors ranking in the top 1% for returns over the past month, according to Mirae Asset Securities data as of 11 a.m. on the 13th. SK hynix traded at 1.464 million won at that time, down 8.79% from the previous session. Losses widened after U.S. chip stocks fell across the board overnight and foreign investors unloaded large volumes of Korean shares.
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) ranked second in net selling, trading 7.58% lower at 231,500 won at the same time. Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS) came third after sliding 9.55%, followed by Doosan (000150.KS), down 7.94%, and Shinil Electronics (002700.KS), down 5.59%.
Also among the 10 most net-sold stocks were Hanwha Solutions (009830.KS), down 8.41%; EO Technics, down 6.07%; Hanmi Semiconductor (042700.KS), down 12.47%; Sungho Electronics (043260.KS), down 3.91%; and Simmtech, down 9.23%. Chip-related names dominated the list, including SK hynix, Samsung Electronics, Hanmi Semiconductor, EO Technics and Simmtech. The pattern suggests that even the most successful traders trimmed holdings to manage risk as selling spread across the semiconductor sector.
The slide in Korean chip stocks was driven in part by news of a product launch by a Chinese memory chipmaker. China's ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, disclosed plans to release next-generation DDR5 products for servers, heightening concerns about intensifying competition in the global memory chip market. On the 12th, Micron and SanDisk fell 3.88% and 5.97%, respectively, on the New York market.
Heavy net selling by foreign investors also weighed on the Korean market. The KOSPI dropped more than 6% intraday, surrendering the 6,000 level. At 9:47 a.m., a sell-side sidecar was triggered, temporarily suspending program sell orders after a sharp drop in KOSPI 200 futures. It was the first sell-side sidecar in about two months.
LG Electronics (066570.KS), by contrast, was the most heavily net-bought stock among the top traders. It traded 6.33% lower at 173,000 won as of 11 a.m. APR (278470.KS) ranked second in net buying, tumbling 17.19% to 291,500 won at the same time. Sunic System, down 5.15%; STI, down 2.41%; and SK Square (402340.KS), down 11.99%, also featured among the top net buys.
Rounding out the 10 most net-bought stocks were EcoPro BM (247540.KQ), down 8.56%; Mirae Asset Securities (006800.KS), down 5.46%; Alteogen (196170.KQ), down 5.40%; Samsung Securities (016360.KS), down 4.59%; and Samsung SDI (006400.KS), down 8.20%. The data suggests the top traders sold chip-related shares en masse while bargain-hunting in selected names that had fallen sharply.
