Daily Pulse: October 2, 2026
KOSPI +0.46% | KOSDAQ -0.11% | Foreign cash sold SK Hynix KRW 207B (~$154M) and Samsung Electronics KRW 95B (~$70M) again today; the KOSPI opened at 6,938, touched 7,011, and closed at 7,004, a 0.10% give-back from the session high
The Number That Matters
Foreign net cash selling was KRW 279B (~$207M). SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics accounted for KRW 302B (~$224M) of that total, meaning those two names alone exceeded aggregate foreign selling by 8%. Strip them out and foreigners were net buyers of the rest of the market in aggregate. The structure of this market has not changed.
Where the Money Went
Foreign buyers concentrated in Samsung Electro-Mechanics at KRW 198B (~$147M), SK Innovation at KRW 75B (~$56M) and Samsung Electronics preferred shares at KRW 34B (~$25M). Foreign selling hit SK Hynix at KRW 207B (~$154M) and Samsung Electronics at KRW 95B (~$70M). Institutions bought KRW 509B (~$378M) net; financial investment led at KRW 532B (~$395M), with pension funds adding KRW 61B (~$46M), while investment trusts sold KRW 31B (~$23M) and private equity sold KRW 65B (~$48M). Program trading sold KRW 168B (~$125M) net, with non-arbitrage at KRW 321B (~$238M) against arbitrage buying of KRW 152B (~$113M). Retail sold KRW 1.71T (~$1.3B) net, with SK Hynix at KRW 835B (~$619M) and Samsung Electronics at KRW 613B (~$455M) the two largest exits. No name drew simultaneous conviction buying from both foreign and institutional investors.
Why the Market Moved
1. Institutions absorbed foreign semiconductor selling; financial investment led at KRW 532B (~$395M) against foreign net selling concentrated in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
2. Foreign futures bought 3,071 contracts while foreign cash sold, the two legs moving in opposite directions.
3. SOX stood at 12,829, up 1.59%, a level that did not translate into foreign cash buying of Korean semiconductor names.
The Uncomfortable Question
Foreign cash selling in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics exceeded total foreign net selling by 8%. Foreign futures bought 3,071 contracts in the same session. Whether the futures leg reflects a directional view or something else cannot be determined from this data. The watchpoint carried since October 1, whether foreign net cash in SK Hynix turns positive, recorded negative KRW 207B (~$154M) today.
Key Disclosures Today
Hana Financial filed an amended share cancellation decision (DART 20261001800144), the most material shareholder-return filing of the session.
KoreaAlpha Take
The two-stock concentration in foreign selling held again today: SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics absorbed 108% of total foreign net cash selling. The question this data cannot answer is who absorbs the semiconductor selling once the price-insensitive institutional programs holding this floor complete their scheduled runs. Financial investment, the largest institutional buyer today at KRW 532B (~$395M), is a category that mixes program trading with treasury-share trust purchases; it is not a clean signal of discretionary conviction. The trade is simple: watch whether foreign net cash in SK Hynix turns positive in the next session.
Data sources: Korea Exchange, DART, US market data
Research only. Not investment advice. KoreaAlpha does not provide personalised recommendations.
Flow figures are KRX investor-type trading value across all listed boards (KOSPI, KOSDAQ, KONEX), common stock only, excluding ETF, ETN and ELW; institutions = the KRX institutional total investor type. Foreign, institutional and retail do not sum to zero: the balance, KRW 1.48 trillion (~$1.1B) net bought on this session, sits with other corporations and other foreign investors, categories this report does not collect.
