Top 1% investors add Samsung, SK hynix as KOSPI drops 1.46%

Investors who rank among the top 1% of Korean stock pickers by return were adding SK hynix and Samsung Electronics shares, Maeil Business Newspaper and Seoul Economic Daily reported on Oct 26, 2026. The purchases came while the two chipmakers were deep in a month-long decline, and days before each company presents third-quarter results.

Neither newspaper gave a won amount for the purchases, the period they covered or who compiled the ranking. That leaves the scale of the trades unknown. The reports describe one group of investors, not a turn in the wider market.

Top earners lean in on a down day

Seoul Economic Daily set the purchases against a weak session. The KOSPI, Korea’s main stock index, ended Oct 26 at 5,469.47, a drop of 1.46%.

Both chip stocks lost ground with the index, though less of it. Samsung Electronics closed at 213,000 won (US$160.99), down 1.16% from its Oct 23 close of 215,500 won. Measured in dollars, the decline came to 1.04%. SK hynix ended at 1,275,000 won (US$963.65), just 0.16% below the 1,277,000 won it fetched on Oct 23.

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Foreign money had been leaving before the session opened. On Oct 23, the previous trading day, foreign investors recorded net selling of 977.8 billion won (about US$738 million) across all KOSPI shares. That figure covers the whole market and does not single out either company. Pacific Tape explains how those flows move the KOSPI and where to track them.

A steep October for both chipmakers

The reported purchases follow heavy losses. From Oct 2 to Oct 26, Samsung shares lost 22.83%, or 21.22% for an investor counting in US dollars. SK hynix dropped 30.74% over the same stretch, 29.3% in dollar terms, the steeper of the two declines. Pacific Tape looked at that slide on Oct 25, ahead of results week.

Samsung’s size makes its slide hard for any Korea fund to sidestep. Its market value stood at about 1,245 trillion won (about US$941 billion) on Oct 26. That equals 29.91% of the combined market value of the KOSPI 200, the index of Korea’s largest listed companies. Over the last 20 sessions, the stock is down 22.97%.

The weakness has not been limited to Korea’s memory makers. Late on Oct 26, Barron’s reported that shares of US rival Micron Technology had steadied as the company disputed the risk posed by Chinese competitors.

Profit high meets a falling share price

The October drop came after Samsung put out strong early numbers. In preliminary third-quarter figures filed on Oct 8, the company estimated operating profit of 107.4 trillion won (about US$81.2 billion) on revenue of 195 trillion won (about US$147.4 billion). That operating profit is the highest in at least six quarters. Samsung publishes an early estimate like this one and then full results weeks later; Pacific Tape explains why it reports twice.

The full picture arrives this week. SK hynix holds its third-quarter earnings conference call on Oct 28 at 09:00 KST. Samsung Electronics follows with its own call on Oct 29 at 10:00 KST.

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Information only, not investment advice.