Foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics has risen above 50 per cent in the South Korean stock market, while retail investors have favoured SK Hynix this month, the main bourse said on Sunday. In the first three weeks of this month, through Friday, foreign investors had made net purchases of 1.877 trillion won (US$1.34 billion) of Samsung Electronics shares, more than double their net purchases of 713 billion won in the previous month, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).
Foreigners’ stake in the chip giant stood at 50.19 per cent as of Friday, above the figure for the first time since April 24, when their ownership stood at 50 per cent, Yonhap news agency reported.
On Thursday, Samsung Electronics shares rallied after the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of the company’s Chairman Lee Jae-yong, affirming lower court rulings that cleared him of financial crimes related to a 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that consolidated his control over the conglomerate.
However, foreigners sold 301 billion won worth of SK Hynix stocks in the prior three weeks, ending their two-month buying streak in the broader market.
SK Hynix shares fell sharply after Goldman Sachs downgraded the chipmaker’s rating to neutral from buy on Thursday, citing a potential drop in high bandwidth memory (HBM) prices next year amid rising competition.
On Thursday, Samsung rose 3.09 per cent to close at 66,700 won, while SK Hynix fell 8.95 per cent to 269,500 won.
Affected by portfolio adjustments by foreigners, Samsung shares have risen 12.2 per cent so far this month, while SK Hynix has fallen 7.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, retail investors took the opposite stance, buying 1.23 trillion won worth of SK Hynix shares and selling 2.31 trillion won worth of Samsung shares during the same period, the report showed.
With the inputs of IANS