Top investors dump SK hynix for second day, pile into Samsung Electro-Mechanics

The Kospi fell into the 6,200s on Friday as foreign selling pushed the index lower during the session, while the market's top-performing investors sold SK hynix for a second consecutive day and bought Samsung Electro-Mechanics most heavily.

The Kospi closed down 37.61 points, or 0.60 percent, at 6,258.77, according to Korea Exchange, extending its losing streak to two sessions.

According to Mirae Asset Securities, high-yield investors trading through the brokerage had net purchased Samsung Electro-Mechanics, OE Solutions and Hyundai Motor 2nd preferred B shares — in that order — as of 11 a.m. Friday. SK hynix was the most net-sold stock. High-yield investors are defined as the top 1 percent of Mirae Asset Securities' equity-trading customers by return over the most recent one-month period.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose as much as 1.46 percent during the morning session, drawing concentrated buying from top investors.

The stock closed up 3.99 percent at 1.278 million won ($901), and analysts attributed the inflow of top-investor buying to an intraday surge of more than 5 percent at one point.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics posted consolidated sales of 3.46 trillion won and operating profit of 440.4 billion won in the second quarter, representing year-on-year increases of 24 percent in sales and 106.7 percent in operating profit.

Expectations for sustained earnings improvement have grown after the company signed long-term supply agreements for multilayer ceramic capacitors with more than 10 clients, including top-tier hyperscalers and major semiconductor firms.

OE Solutions ranked second among the stocks most net-purchased by top investors on Friday.

OE Solutions, a specialist in optical transceivers and other communications equipment, surged as much as 14.29 percent intraday to 25,600 won, drawing a large influx of capital from top investors on strong upward momentum.

Kim Jeong-chan, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said in a report Friday that the second half of the year is likely to see shipment growth across the optical value chain as indium phosphide supply bottlenecks ease, along with upward revisions to revenue guidance as production capacity is secured. He recommended an overweight position on optical communications stocks.

Hyundai Motor 2nd preferred B shares ranked third, attracting bargain hunters as the stock fell 2.27 percent.

OCI Holdings, LIG Defense & Aerospace, LG Energy Solution, Simtech and Naver also appeared among the top net-purchased stocks.

On the selling side, SK hynix topped the net-sold list among top investors for the day.

SK hynix closed down 4.48 percent at 1.422 million won on Friday, following a 3.95 percent decline on Thursday. The stock had also ranked second on the net-sold list Thursday, reflecting a continued selling bias among top investors in recent sessions.

Samsung SDI ranked second on the net-sold list Friday. The stock had been the top net-purchased pick among top investors on Thursday, but after rising 4.22 percent Friday, analysts said profit-taking emerged just one day later.

Samsung Electronics, which fell 0.65 percent, ranked third on the net-sold list, suggesting top investors remain cautious toward large-cap semiconductor stocks.