Share buybacks by Samsung Electronics (005930) and SK hynix (000660) are providing a firm floor under South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index. With foreign investors extending their selling streak, the "other corporations" category has emerged as the market's key buyer as the two chipmakers pursue large-scale share repurchases.
Other corporations bought roughly 1 trillion won worth of stock every day for seven consecutive trading sessions from the 20th through the 28th of this month, according to the Korea Exchange and other sources on the 29th. Daily net purchases had averaged 18.7 billion won from the 1st through the 19th before jumping sharply from the 20th. Cumulative net purchases of KOSPI shares by other corporations came to 10.187 trillion won ($7.1 billion) between the 20th and the 28th.
Buying from the category, which is presumed to reflect the two companies' buyback orders, has flowed in far more strongly than from other investor groups. Other corporations net purchased 2.4736 trillion won of Samsung Electronics shares from the 20th to the 28th, while individuals sold a net 140.1 billion won, foreign investors 948.4 billion won and institutions 1.3763 trillion won. For SK hynix, other corporations alone bought 7.6207 trillion won.
Buying from the category is expected to grow further. Samsung Electronics said it would repurchase about 15 trillion won of its own shares through open-market purchases from the 24th of this month through November 21. SK hynix plans to acquire 40 trillion won worth of its own shares between August 20 and November 19, leaving ample buying capacity. With cumulative net purchases of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shares by other corporations at 10.0942 trillion won as of that day, roughly 45 trillion won in additional purchases remain possible.
Even so, the KOSPI has struggled to reclaim the 7,000-point mark. The index fell to the 6,700 level the previous day, the 28th, even after Nvidia posted second-quarter earnings that beat market expectations, easing concerns about an AI peak-out that had weighed on equities. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix closed down 3.38% and 4.45%, respectively, from the prior session.
