Stock short selling on rise despite market upturn in S. Korea

Seoul, Aug 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) Stock short selling has been on the rise despite the country's stock market sharply rebounding from a rout caused by a crash in chipmakers and artificial intelligence (AI)-related shares, data showed on Sunday.

According to the data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), outstanding short selling reached some 19 trillion won (US$13.4 billion) as of Tuesday, up 14 percent, or 2.27 trillion won, from 16.73 trillion won at the end of last month.

Stock short selling stood at 15 trillion won at the end of February but fell to 12 trillion won in early March. The figure rose to 23 trillion won in early June, reports Yonhap news agency.

So far this month, the country's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 6 percent, and the secondary, tech-laden KOSDAQ index shot up 20 percent.

The country's stock market had crashed last month amid woes over the profitability of the AI-related investment, which may reduce demand for chips.

But investors remained worried over a sharp rise in a short period of time and are still uncertain whether the chipmaking sector has peaked.

Earlier, South Korean shares ended sharply higher for the fifth straight session on Friday as investors snapped up shares of major chipmakers. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.

After opening 2.7 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) trimmed earlier gains to end up 164.60 points, or 2.42 percent, at 6,977.94.

Trade volume was moderate at 416 million shares worth 26.73 trillion won (US$18.8 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 675 to 204.

Foreigners bought a net 3.04 trillion won worth of shares, offsetting 3 trillion won in combined net selling by institutions and individuals.

Overnight, U.S. stocks advanced on better-than-expected inflation data in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.81 percent.

—IANS

na/

Source: IANS