Retail Investors Sell 5.1 Trillion Won in Two Days, Missing Samsung and SK Hynix Surge

After a rapid rebound following 'Black Monday' in the South Korean stock market, individual investors who had previously made significant purchases of semiconductor leaders faced a situation of 'buying the dip and selling the rebound.' According to data from the Korea Exchange, retail investors collectively bought approximately 3.89 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, with net purchases of 1.10 trillion won for Samsung Electronics and 2.79 trillion won for SK Hynix. On the same day, the stock prices of the two companies plummeted by 10.7% and 15.37%, respectively, as retail investors absorbed shares sold by foreign and institutional investors. However, as semiconductor stocks rebounded, retail investors quickly turned to selling. Over the course of the 14th and 15th, individual investors sold a total of 1.45 trillion won in Samsung Electronics and 3.70 trillion won in SK Hynix, resulting in a total net selling volume of 5.15 trillion won for both stocks. Data shows that retail investors bought Samsung Electronics at an estimated average price of about 261,700 won on the 13th, and then sold at an average price of about 259,400 won over the next two days; for SK Hynix, the average buying price was about 1,938,500 won, while the selling price averaged about 1,849,300 won. Based on purchases made on the 13th, retail investors incurred an overall loss of about 138.2 billion won. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics rose approximately 9.8% and SK Hynix increased about 12.8% over the two days, but due to the large amount of buying funds being sold off early in the rebound on the 14th, investors were unable to fully benefit from the subsequent price increases.