Overseas investors accounted for 90.7% of total daily shorts by value in Kospi on Monday, betting against 738 billion won (US$659mil RM2.7bil) worth of stocks, according to the Korea Exchange.
SEOUL: South Korea lifted what was the world’s longest ban on short-selling on Monday, and foreign traders piled in.
Overseas investors accounted for 90.7% of total daily shorts by value in Kospi on Monday, betting against 738 billion won (US$659mil RM2.7bil) worth of stocks, according to the Korea Exchange.
That’s well above the 59% of short values they averaged in 2019 before South Korea imposed a ban on the trading strategy in March last year as the pandemic spread.
A 2020 winner in Asia stock market is now the biggest loser theedgemarkets.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theedgemarkets.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
While technology stocks continue to front Asia’s equity rally, one hot sector from 2020 has fallen to the bottom of the leaderboard: health care.
Essentially flat year-to-date, a gauge of the sector is the worst-performing in Asia, lagging the region’s benchmark by nine percentage points. It is on track to underperform the MSCI Asia Pacific Index for a third straight month, the longest losing streak in three years.
A growing expectation of a return to normal for the global economy has caused investors to abandon defensive bets made during the pandemic, such as health care the second-best performer last year. Energy shares have staged a comeback on the rebound in crude prices, while financials have strengthened thanks to the rise in bond yields. “The market is reflecting re-opening and recovery expectations, which is supportive of cyclical sectors rather than health care,” said Kieran Calder, head of Asia equity research at Union Bancaire Privee Ubp SA.
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A 2020 winner in Asia’s stock market is now the biggest loser
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A 2020 winner in Asia’s stock market is now the biggest loserBy Moxy Ying and Youkyung Lee, Bloomberg
Last Updated: Feb 21, 2021, 10:52 AM IST
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Synopsis
Essentially flat year-to-date, a gauge of the sector is the worst-performing in Asia, lagging the region’s benchmark by eight percentage points.
Energy shares have staged a comeback on the rebound in crude prices, while financials have strengthened thanks to the rise in bond yields.
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While technology stocks continue to front Asia’s equity rally, one hot sector from 2020 has fallen to the bottom of the leaderboard: health care.