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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] SEOUL – Samsung Electronics shares have rebounded past ₩70,000 for the first time in 11 months, but the rally has also triggered a dramatic surge in short selling activity, reflecting mounting investor caution after the company’s landmark foundry contract with Tesla.
According to data from the Korea Exchange on July 30, Samsung Electronics’ short selling transaction value reached ₩1.284 trillion on July 28 — a sixfold jump from the previous session — as the stock spiked 6.83% to close at ₩70,400.
Short selling continued to rise the next day, surging another 59.37% to ₩2.04 trillion on July 29, when shares edged up 0.28% to ₩70,600. Over two days, short selling ballooned 9.27 times. By July 30, the figure dipped slightly to ₩1.77 trillion as the stock closed at ₩72,600, up 2.83%.
This marks the first time in 86 months — since May 15, 2018, when it hit ₩2.38 trillion — that Samsung Electronics’ short selling exceeded ₩2 trillion, and it ranks as the second-highest daily figure since records began in 2001.
Analysts say the surge shows investors hedging against a potential correction after Samsung’s rapid gains, betting the price could retreat in the near term.
Breakdown of short selling by investor type shows:
Foreign investors led the activity, with ₩1.14 trillion on July 28 (9x the prior day), ₩1.86 trillion on July 29 (+62.8%), and ₩1.65 trillion on July 30.
Institutions also increased short positions, from ₩13 billion on July 28 to ₩17 billion on July 29, before easing to ₩11 billion on July 30.
Retail investors, though smaller in volume, saw sharp swings — jumping 13-fold to ₩730 million on July 28, dropping to ₩340 million on July 29, then spiking again to ₩840 million on July 30.
Meanwhile, in the spot market, retail investors have been heavy sellers — offloading ₩988.4 billion on July 28, ₩259.8 billion on July 29, and ₩722.9 billion on July 30 — as many who bought at last year’s highs rushed to take profits.
By contrast, foreign investors net-bought ₩681 billion (July 28), ₩252.1 billion (July 29), and ₩587.5 billion (July 30), while institutions alternated between buying and selling, ultimately finishing July 30 as net buyers.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
