Stock short selling on rise despite market upturn

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 AI-related shares, data showed Sunday.

According to the data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), outstanding short selling reached some 19 trillion won ($13.4 billion) as of Tuesday, up 14 percent, or 2.3 trillion won, from 16.7 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.

So far this month, the country's benchmark Kospi advanced 6 percent, and the secondary, tech-laden Kosdaq index shot up 20 percent.

The country's stock market crashed last month amid concerns about the profitability of AI-related investments, which may reduce demand for chips.

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

Yonhap