Taiwan rose 4.9% and Korea fell 0.8% on Monday as foreigners sold both

01In Taipei, who bought while foreigners sold

Monday’s point gain was the second-largest single-day rise, CNA reported, behind the 3,186.45 points of 31 July.⁹ In the exchange’s tables for 2026, only 31 July, at 7.98%, was larger by percent as well.² TSMC rose 4.68% to NT$2,235 and supplied about 800 of the points, according to CNA.⁵⁹

Dealers credited the government’s pledge. The National Financial Stabilization Fund’s committee had authorised intervention on Friday; “With the government’s pledge to intervene in the market, investor sentiment improved, prompting many investors to buy on dips today,” Kevin Su of Hua Nan Securities told CNA, adding that US tech shares’ Friday rebound helped.⁹

The exchange’s investor table shows the institutions as a group did not supply the buying. Foreigners sold a net NT$90.06bn, dealers NT$31.22bn, and domestic investment trusts bought NT$31.31bn; together the three groups sold NT$89.96bn.³ The table has no line for individuals, companies or the fund, and CNA’s report does not say whether or how much the fund bought.⁹

02In Seoul, chipmakers rose and the index fell

The KOSPI touched 5,172.94 before closing below where it started.⁷ Samsung Electronics rose 0.64% to ₩189,900 and SK hynix 0.35% to ₩1,136,000. The losses were elsewhere: LG Energy Solution fell 5.78%, Hanwha Aerospace 3.18% and Hyundai Motor 2.86%, and decliners outnumbered gainers 527 to 340.¹⁰

Foreigners and individuals were net sellers and institutions net buyers in every account we read, but the amounts differ: institutions bought ₩717bn to ₩754bn, foreigners sold ₩526bn to ₩658bn, and individuals sold ₩511bn to ₩689bn.⁸¹⁰¹¹ “Investors were searching for direction while bargain hunting continued in semiconductors,” said Lee Kyoung-min of Daishin Securities.¹⁰ Kim Dae-jun of Korea Investment & Securities said “a sideways trend is more likely than a V-shaped rebound in the near term”.¹¹

03Tokyo, and what to watch

The Nikkei ranged from 57,775.16 to 59,440.18 and closed 7.1% below its 30 October level of 63,290.11; we found no report attributing the day’s rise, so we give no cause.⁶ Su pointed investors to US consumer-price data due on Tuesday, US time.⁹ Two numbers to watch in Taipei: the foreign line in TWSE’s table, which has not turned positive since 28 October, and any figure the fund gives for what it has bought. India had the opposite week before this one: its foreign investors were buying.