Daily Pulse: October 13, 2026
KOSPI -5.46% | KOSDAQ -1.43% | KOSPI opened at 6,186, reached 6,198, then closed at 6,035: foreign cash sold KRW 4.46 trillion (~$3.3B) with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics absorbing 85% of that total while the index gave back 2.63% from the session high
The Number That Matters
Foreign net cash selling was KRW 4.46 trillion (~$3.3B). SK Hynix absorbed KRW 2.38 trillion (~$1.8B) and Samsung Electronics KRW 1.39 trillion (~$1.0B), together equalling 85% of total foreign selling and 13.3% of the entire KOSPI session turnover of KRW 28.45 trillion (~$21.2B). The KOSPI closed 124 points above the session low of 5,911, giving back 2.63% from the intraday high.
Where the Money Went
Foreign sellers concentrated in SK Hynix at KRW 2.38 trillion (~$1.8B), Samsung Electronics at KRW 1.39 trillion (~$1.0B), Samsung Electro-Mechanics at KRW 197B (~$147M), SK Square at KRW 177B (~$132M) and Samsung Electronics preferred shares at KRW 150B (~$112M). Foreign buying in BVM, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Silicontouch totalled KRW 91B (~$68M), or 2% of foreign selling in the top three names. Among the four institutional sub-categories this report tracks, financial investment bought KRW 2.11 trillion (~$1.6B) and pension funds bought KRW 48B (~$36M), while investment trusts sold KRW 481B (~$359M) and private equity sold KRW 61B (~$46M). Arbitrage program trading bought KRW 127B (~$95M) across the market; non-arbitrage program trading sold KRW 2.03 trillion (~$1.5B), for total program net selling of KRW 1.91 trillion (~$1.4B). Retail bought KRW 2.13 trillion (~$1.6B) net, with Samsung Electronics at KRW 1.22 trillion (~$907M) and SK Hynix at KRW 1.15 trillion (~$860M) the two largest entries. No name drew simultaneous conviction buying from both foreign and institutional investors.
Why the Market Moved
1. Foreign cash sold KRW 4.46 trillion (~$3.3B) while futures bought 1,670 contracts, moving in opposite directions; SK Hynix alone absorbed KRW 2.38 trillion (~$1.8B) in foreign selling.
2. Non-arbitrage program trading sold KRW 2.03 trillion (~$1.5B) across the market, the dominant mechanical force on the sell side.
3. SOX stood at 12,236, down 2.67%.
The Uncomfortable Question
Retail absorbed KRW 2.13 trillion (~$1.6B) in a session where foreign sellers offloaded KRW 4.46 trillion (~$3.3B) and the two-stock concentration in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics reached 85%. Pension funds contributed KRW 48B (~$36M) to the buy side, a figure that does not meaningfully alter the absorption structure. The question is whether retail and pension funds together can continue absorbing this volume as the price-insensitive bid beneath these two names shrinks toward year-end.
Key Disclosures Today
No material DART filings today.
KoreaAlpha Take
The absorption structure has not changed: retail took KRW 2.13 trillion (~$1.6B) against KRW 4.46 trillion (~$3.3B) in foreign selling, with the same two names accounting for 85% of the foreign sell side. Pension funds bought KRW 48B (~$36M), below the KRW 175B (~$131M) seen in the prior reported session, so institutional partnership with retail is narrowing, not widening. The two-stock concentration at 85% is the highest recorded in this selling sequence. The question is whether retail's capacity to absorb two-stock selling at this scale has any floor that is not retail itself. The trade is simple: watch whether foreign net cash selling in SK Hynix exceeds KRW 2.38 trillion (~$1.8B) 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 616B (~$460M) net bought on this session, sits with other corporations and other foreign investors, categories this report does not collect.
