Daily Pulse: September 11, 2026
KOSPI -1.76% | KOSDAQ -1.95% | Foreign cash and futures sold together: KRW 2.62T (~$2.0B) cash, 2,543 contracts
The Number That Matters
Foreign cash sold KRW 2.62T (~$2.0B) and futures sold 2,543 contracts on the same session. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics absorbed 76% of total foreign selling, at KRW 1.08T (~$806M) and KRW 917B (~$682M) respectively, representing 10.2% of KOSPI turnover. The same two names took 88% of foreign selling on Thursday.
Where the Money Went
Foreign net selling of KRW 2.62T (~$2.0B) concentrated in SK Hynix at KRW 1.08T (~$806M), Samsung Electronics at KRW 917B (~$682M), and Samsung Electronics preferred shares at KRW 285B (~$212M). Foreign buying names, NAVER at KRW 36B (~$27M), Woori Financial at KRW 35B (~$26M) and Celltrion at KRW 28B (~$21M), summed to KRW 99B (~$73M), 4.3% of the KRW 2.29T (~$1.7B) sold across the three largest foreign sell names. The institutional total of KRW 1.43T (~$1.1B) net sold was driven by the financial investment sub-category at KRW 1.12T (~$834M). Pension funds bought KRW 275B (~$205M) net, the only buyer among the four institutional sub-categories this report tracks. Retail bought KRW 2.38T (~$1.8B) net, concentrated in Samsung Electronics at KRW 940B (~$699M) and SK Hynix at KRW 490B (~$364M).
Why the Market Moved
1. Bloomberg reported that a new DeepSeek model rattled chipmakers and AI rivals; SOX fell 2.66% and the US 10-year yield rose 12 basis points to 4.95%.
2. Foreign cash and futures sold in the same direction, with semiconductor concentration at 76% of the foreign total; retail took the other side with KRW 2.38T (~$1.8B) and the KOSPI closed at 6,909.91.
3. Program trading net sold KRW 2.23T (~$1.7B), KRW 2.16T (~$1.6B) of it non-arbitrage and KRW 70B (~$52M) arbitrage. Program flow overlaps the investor-type figures above and is not additive to them.
The Uncomfortable Question
Pension funds bought KRW 275B (~$205M) while the financial investment, investment trust and private equity sub-categories all sold. Foreign and institutional sellers together distributed KRW 4.06T (~$3.0B) net; retail absorbed KRW 2.38T (~$1.8B) of that, and its three largest buys, all semiconductor lines, totalled KRW 1.69T (~$1.3B). Whether pension fund buying represents a floor or a single session of counter-trend positioning is not answerable from one day.
Key Disclosures Today
Shift Up filed a treasury share trust termination on DART. The KRW 20B (~$15M) trust with NH Investment & Securities reached its scheduled end on September 10, and the 620,836 shares it bought move into the company's own account. The filing does not say whether those shares will be cancelled.
KoreaAlpha Take
The sell-side will call pension fund buying a constructive signal. Foreign and institutional sellers combined distributed KRW 4.06T (~$3.0B); pension funds absorbed KRW 275B (~$205M) of that, or 7 cents on every dollar sold. Foreign cash and futures sold in the same direction, and the two-stock semiconductor concentration was 76% of foreign selling. Foreign buying across the three top names sums to KRW 99B (~$73M), 4.3% of what the top three sell names absorbed. The unresolved question is whether foreign cash selling in the two chip names continues into next week. The trade is simple: watch whether foreign net cash selling in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics stays above KRW 1T (~$743M) for the pair in the next session.
Data sources: Korea Exchange, DART, Bloomberg
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 1.68 trillion (~$1.2B) net bought on this session, sits with other corporations and other foreign investors, categories not broken out above.
