Foreign selling keeps the KOSPI behind Taiwan even after Samsung's 107 trillion won quarter
South Korea's KOSPI fell 2.62% to 6,625.93 on Oct. 8, its third straight loss. Samsung Electronics posted 107 trillion won of third-quarter operating profit, Seoul Economic Daily reported, yet about 96.6 trillion won of foreign net selling since June has left the index trailing Taiwan's.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Over the past month the KOSPI fell 4.72% while Taiwan's Taiex rose 10.35% and the Nikkei 225 6.09%, the only decline among the indexes Seoul Economic Daily compared.
- For the year the KOSPI is up 56.84% against 70.36% for Taiwan, a 13.52-point gap for an index that was once the world's best performer.
- Yonhap tied Thursday's fall to oil prices adding to inflation worries and a Federal Reserve that has signaled it may need to raise rates this year.
- On the day foreigners sold a net 1.99 trillion won of stock and institutions 1.67 trillion won, while individuals bought a net 2.9 billion won.
- Retail investors, net buyers of 42.4 trillion won in June, were net sellers of 14.2 trillion won in September and have been selling into each rebound.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction Thursday's breadth, with the index down more than its two chip giants, backs Yonhap's oil-and-Fed account for the session; Seoul Economic Daily's memory account fits the four-month lag instead.
- What it limits constraint With retail investors now selling into rebounds, no large domestic buyer is taking what foreigners sell, so a recovery depends on foreign demand returning for Samsung and SK hynix in particular.
- Who's exposed exposure Because two memory makers carry so much of the index, a strong Samsung quarter leaves the whole KOSPI open to any signal that memory prices or profit growth are near a peak.
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Carmakers, defense and biotech outpace chips in KOSPI's 2.05% reboundConfirmed3 publishers
Samsung Electronics fell 2.42% to 262,000 won on Thursday and SK hynix 2.44% to 1.68 million won [7], both less than the index's 2.62% [1]. The two carry heavy weight in the KOSPI [15], so the rest of the board had to fall by more than 2.62% on a weighted average to produce that close [21]. Hanwha Aerospace lost 8.33% and HMM 2.8% [8]. The Dow had dropped 0.66% overnight [6]. Seoul's benchmark fell about four times as far [22].
Thursday, then, looks like an oil-and-Fed selloff [3] in a market that falls further than its peers on the same news [22]. Seoul Economic Daily's memory explanation fits the longer record. The index sits about 27.3% below its June 22 record of 9,114.55 [11][23]. From that date the Nasdaq gained 5.24% and the S&P 500 4.40% through Oct. 7, Taiwan's Taiex rose 3.29% through Oct. 8, and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 4.82% [12]. All of them traded through 10-year Treasury yields above 5% and doubts about the pace of AI development [2].
The paper's argument is that Korea holds its AI exposure mostly in Samsung and SK hynix, so any concern that memory prices and profit growth are nearing a peak moves the whole index [15]. Taiwan's gains are spread across chip design, foundry services, packaging, networking and servers [16]. The US rebound leaned on Nvidia, Alphabet and the rest of the Magnificent Seven, and Japan's on chip equipment and testing stocks [17]. Samsung's 107 trillion won quarter [10] shows what the memory cycle is paying now. Investors pricing a peak care about how long it keeps paying, and I think a quarter that large can feed that worry as easily as calm it.
Foreign investors sold a net 48.6 trillion won of main-board shares in June, 9.9 trillion in July, 10.2 trillion in August, 21.5 trillion in September and 6.4 trillion in the first eight days of October, about 96.6 trillion won in all, concentrated in the two chip makers [18]. The total is roughly nine-tenths of Samsung's third-quarter operating profit [24] (a flow set against earnings, so a measure of scale and nothing more). The selling did not weaken the currency on Thursday: the won firmed to 1,338.5 per dollar from 1,340.4 [9]. Seoul Economic Daily does not say where the money went.
If memory prices do peak, the concentration keeps costing the index on each soft data point [15]. Seoul Economic Daily reports that securities analysts see a recovery in demand for the large-cap chip stocks foreigners have been selling as the key to a rebound [20]. Should oil and the Fed stay in control, the KOSPI will keep falling further than its comparison markets on the same headlines, as it did on Thursday [22].
I think the structural account explains the four-month gap and says little about Thursday. The counter-case is in the same data: an index with this makeup is still up by more than half for the year [14]. The flow half of the thesis fails if foreign selling of Samsung and SK hynix stops and the KOSPI still trails the Taiex. It fails from the other side if the index keeps dropping more than its two chip giants on oil days [21].
What to watch
- October retail flow data: a return to June-style net buying would give foreign sellers of Samsung and SK hynix a domestic counterparty again.
- Whether the KOSPI holds the 6,600 area it last closed in on Sept. 15, or slides back toward the 5,000 range it touched in late July.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence70
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence70
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers- Builder
- Builder 7%
- Operator
- Operator 12%
- Investor
- Investor 81%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The KOSPI closed down 177.97 points, or 2.62%, at 6,625.93 on Oct. 8, extending losses to a third consecutive session after opening 0.07% higher.
- [2]
Global equity conditions were difficult during the period, with the 10-year US Treasury yield topping 5% and questions emerging about the pace of AI development.
- [3]
Investors were wary as higher oil prices added to inflationary pressures and the US Federal Reserve signaled it may need to raise rates this year.
- [4]
The Oct. 8 close was the KOSPI's first close at the 6,600 level in 14 sessions, since Sept. 15, when it finished at 6,627.26.
- [5]
On Oct. 8 institutions sold a net 1.67 trillion won and foreigners a net 1.99 trillion won of stocks, while individuals bought a net 2.9 billion won.
- [6]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.66% overnight and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.22%.
- [7]
Samsung Electronics fell 2.42% to 262,000 won and SK hynix declined 2.44% to 1.68 million won on Oct. 8.
- [8]
Hanwha Aerospace dropped 8.33% to 891,000 won and HMM shed 2.8% to 20,800 won on Oct. 8.
- [9]
The won was quoted at 1,338.5 per US dollar at 3:30 p.m., compared with 1,340.4 at the previous session's close.
- [10]
The KOSPI fell for a third straight session despite Samsung Electronics reporting third-quarter operating profit of 107 trillion won, surpassing Nvidia.
- [11]
The KOSPI hit a record high of 9,114.55 on June 22 before sliding to the 5,000 range by late July, then recovered gradually to around 7,000 and has been stuck in a range.
- [12]
From June 22 through Oct. 7 the Nasdaq composite rose 5.24% and the S&P 500 gained 4.40%; the Taiex climbed 3.29% from June 22 to Oct. 8; the Nikkei 225 fell 4.82% over the same period, a smaller decline than the KOSPI's.
- [13]
Over the past month the KOSPI dropped 4.72% while the Taiex rose 10.35%, the Nikkei 225 gained 6.09%, the Nasdaq added 4.23% and the S&P 500 advanced 1.67%; the KOSPI was the only index to decline.
- [14]
Year to date Taiwan is up 70.36% and the KOSPI 56.84%, a gap of 13.52 percentage points for an index that was once the world's best performer.
- [15]
Because large-cap memory stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix carry heavy weight in the index, the broader market is vulnerable whenever concerns surface that memory prices and profit growth are nearing a peak.
- [16]
Taiwan has AI beneficiaries spread across the supply chain, from chip design, foundry services and packaging to networking and servers.
- [17]
In the US, gains in the Magnificent Seven including Nvidia and Alphabet supported the market; in Japan, chip equipment and testing stocks rallied and drove the index higher.
- [18]
Foreign investors sold a net 48.6 trillion won of main-board shares in June, 9.9 trillion in July, 10.2 trillion in August, 21.5 trillion in September and 6.4 trillion from Oct. 1 to 8, about 96.6 trillion won cumulatively since June, concentrated in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
- [19]
Retail investors bought a net 42.4 trillion won in June but turned to net selling of 14.2 trillion won in September, selling into each rebound.
- [20]
Securities analysts say the key to a KOSPI rebound is a recovery in demand for the large-cap chip stocks that have borne the brunt of foreign selling.
- [21]
Because the index fell 2.62% while its two heavily weighted memory stocks fell only 2.42% and 2.44%, the remaining constituents must have fallen by more than 2.62% on a weighted average.
- [22]
The KOSPI's 2.62% drop was about four times the Dow's 0.66% overnight decline.
- [23]
The KOSPI's Oct. 8 close of 6,625.93 is about 27.3% below its June 22 record of 9,114.55.
- [24]
Cumulative foreign net selling of about 96.6 trillion won since June equals roughly nine-tenths of Samsung's 107 trillion won third-quarter operating profit.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- en.sedaily.comKOSPI Falls Behind as U.S., Japan and Taiwan Markets Climb
1 article · October 8, 2026
- en.yna.co.krSeoul stocks down for 3rd day amid inflation worries
3 articles · October 8, 2026
- koreaherald.comSeoul shares down for 3rd day amid inflation worries
1 article · October 8, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Asian equity markets
- Memory chip upcycle earnings
- South Korean equity market
- Foreign Investor Flows