S. Korean Retail Investors Sell Record 8-Year-High Amount of Stocks

Individual investors in South Korea sold a net 1.19 trillion won worth of local stocks on Tuesday, the most substantial sum since Sept. 14, 2012, according to the Korea Exchange.

The largest-ever sell-off by retail investors was 1.68 trillion won on Dec. 1, 2011.

According to Samsung Securities Co. researcher Jeong Myeong-ji, individuals took advantage of the market crash caused by the coronavirus by buying massive amounts of local stocks and sold it to capitalize on the gains that were built up recently.

The selling binge, centered around heavyweight stocks, were met by net purchases of foreigners amounting to 331 billion won and of institutions who bought 842 billion won worth.

Samsung Electronics, whose stock price increased 5.07 percent to close at 50,300 won, was the most sold at 354.4 billion won worth. It was followed by 171.1 billion-won worth of stocks of Hyundai Motor Co., whose stock price advanced 7.83 percent to end at 99,100 won.