Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) was the most heavily net-sold stock this month among South Korean investors holding at least 3 billion won in financial assets, according to brokerage data. Analysts say the selling may reflect disappointment among individual investors who had hoped for the kind of aggressive shareholder return program announced by SK hynix (000660.KS). Single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds, which drew the strongest interest from these ultra-wealthy investors last month, also lost their appeal within a month.
Seoul Economic Daily commissioned a major brokerage to analyze the top five net-bought and net-sold stocks among 7,500 clients with more than 3 billion won in financial assets for last month and this month through the 24th. Samsung Electronics topped the net-selling list this month, with these investors unloading 91.34 billion won worth of shares. It was the second consecutive month the stock ranked first in net selling, following 75.75 billion won last month.
Samsung Electronics approved a record shareholder return program of up to 110 trillion won on the 21st of this month, but the company said details beyond about 30 trillion won in cash dividends — including its regular third-quarter payout — would be finalized at a board meeting in late October. With no immediate market reaction such as a share price rally, some observers say that may have contributed to the selling. A brokerage official said portfolio adjustments were partly made in consideration of the market response following the announcement of the shareholder return policy. Samsung Electronics closed at 266,000 won, up 1.72% from the previous session. Other stocks high on the net-selling list included LIG Defense & Aerospace (079550.KS) at 21.38 billion won, the KODEX KOSDAQ150 Leverage ETF at 15.7 billion won, BGF Retail (282330.KS) at 11.98 billion won and Celltrion (068270.KS) at 8.31 billion won.
The net-buying rankings also shifted sharply within a month. Four of the top five net-bought stocks last month were leveraged ETFs. Two of them were single-stock leveraged products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, while the other two were index leverage products. These investors bought 50.12 billion won worth of the KODEX SK hynix Single-Stock Leverage ETF and 46.18 billion won worth of the KODEX Leverage ETF.
This month, by contrast, no leveraged products appeared among the top five net-bought stocks. SK hynix, which ranked second in net selling last month at 38.34 billion won, drew the strongest interest this month with 122.11 billion won in net buying. Samsung Electronics preferred shares and Samsung SDI (006400.KS) saw net buying of 31.68 billion won and 11.83 billion won, respectively. HMM (011200.KS) drew 9.89 billion won and Cosmax 7.79 billion won.
A brokerage official said that as market volatility increased after the launch of single-stock leveraged ETFs, investors appeared to have taken short-term profits and either cleared out positions or rotated into large-cap stocks. Rather than concluding that buying momentum for chip stocks has broken down, the official said, some ultra-wealthy investors can be seen as having realized capital gains.
