Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix see 5 trillion won in net selling as foreigners take profits; Doosan Robotics, battery stocks draw fresh buying
Doosan Robotics was the most net-purchased stock by foreign investors during a 19-consecutive-trading-day stretch of net selling on the domestic market, data showed. While foreigners dumped Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares en masse, buying concentrated in robot and secondary battery stocks, with Doosan Robotics leading the way.
According to Korea Exchange, foreign investors recorded net selling on the main bourse for 19 consecutive trading days from May 7 through Thursday — the 10th longest such streak on record and the longest in roughly six years, since the March 5–April 16, 2020 run. The ninth-longest streak was 20 consecutive trading days from March 3 to March 30, 2005.
The two stocks foreigners shed most heavily during the period were Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Foreigners net sold approximately 2.87 trillion won ($2.08 billion) worth of Samsung Electronics shares and offloaded around 2.6 trillion won ($1.88 billion) of SK Hynix. Analysts attributed the selling to profit-taking after both stocks posted sharp gains this year on expectations of benefiting from the AI semiconductor boom.
The funds leaving the two semiconductor heavyweights flowed into robot stocks, which have emerged as a new AI investment theme. Doosan Robotics topped the net purchase ranking over the same period, drawing approximately 646 billion won ($468 million) in foreign buying.
Doosan Robotics has been in the spotlight since Nvidia Senior Director Madison Huang visited the company in April. The firm plans to launch intelligent robot solutions in partnership with Nvidia by 2027. Markets have also taken note of reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Doosan Bears home game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul this weekend.
Analysts in the brokerage community have cast Doosan Robotics as the stock poised to inherit the role of Nvidia's "ganbu" — a close ally — that drove the AI semiconductor rally. "This is the arrival of a 'new ganbu,'" said Choi Geon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities. "The process of Doosan Robotics transforming from a simple robot hardware manufacturer into a robot AI solutions company has begun," he said.
"It plans to move beyond traditional robot control methods and build autonomous perception, judgment and control software that allows robots to operate on their own," Choi added.
The shift in foreign portfolios was also visible in the secondary battery sector. Samsung SDI ranked second in net foreign purchases over the same period, drawing approximately 370 billion won ($268 million), while LG Energy Solution attracted around 240 billion won ($174 million) in net buying.
Market observers say foreign investors are trimming their exposure to AI semiconductor stocks that surged sharply in the short term and broadening their investment targets toward relatively undervalued growth stocks such as robotics and secondary batteries.
Kwon Jun-su, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said Samsung SDI activated its nickel-cobalt-aluminum, or NCA, line for energy storage systems in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2025 and plans to bring its lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, line for energy storage systems online in the US for the first time in the second half of this year.
"The company is expanding local production by converting its US capacity lines, which should make additional energy storage system orders possible going forward," Kwon added. "It will be able to secure a competitive edge in terms of energy storage system business expansion."
th5@heraldcorp.com
