Short-selling transactions rose to the highest in over two years when the Korean stock market crashed earlier this week on artificial intelligence (AI) valuation concerns, industry data showed. By investors, foreigners accounted for 67% of the total amount, while institutional investors accounted for 32.1%.
Mid-week, the country’s benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at one point dipped by more than 6%, triggering a sell-side circuit breaker by the Korea Exchange (KRX) for five minutes. A total of 1.97 trillion won ($1.4 billion) worth of stocks were shorted on the day, according to the data from the KRX and Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency.