Foreign Investors Increase Net Short Positions in Futures to Over 80,000 Contracts, Selling Over 640,000 ETF Shares Worth NT$87.5 Billion

Taiwan's stock market closed down 2,030 points today (28th), settling at 41,603—the third-largest point decline this year and the lowest level in two months, breaking below previous support levels. Foreign investors simultaneously increased short positions in both futures and spot markets, adding 3,556 short contracts in futures, bringing net short positions to 82,255 contracts. In the cash market, they sold a massive NT$87.5 billion worth of shares, targeting various ETFs including active, leveraged, index, and high-dividend ETFs. Eight of the top ten foreign-sold stocks were ETFs, totaling over 640,000 shares sold.

The three major institutional investors collectively sold NT$116.939 billion today. Foreign investors sold NT$87.563 billion, while investment trusts bought NT$2.353 billion, marking their 25th consecutive day of net buying. Proprietary traders sold NT$31.73 billion, the third consecutive day of net selling. In the Taiwan Index Futures market, foreign investors added 3,556 short contracts for the third consecutive day, raising their total open short positions to 82,255 contracts.

Foreign investors' selling was entirely focused on ETFs. The top ten foreign-sold ETFs included: Yuanta Taiwan Top 50 (0050-TW), Cathay Taiwan Top 50 (009816-TW), Fubon Taiwan 50 Growth (00981A-TW), Fu Hua Future 50 (00991A-TW), Mega Financial High Dividend (0056-TW), Fubon Taiwan Dragon (00405A-TW), and Yuanta Taiwan 50 2x Bull (00631L-TW), with individual sell-offs ranging from 30,000 to 230,000 shares. The combined total for these eight ETFs reached 640,000 shares.

Conversely, foreign investors favored panel stocks such as Innolux (3481-TW), AU Optronics (2409-TW), and CPT (6116-TW), all of which ranked in the top ten foreign buys, totaling approximately 90,000 shares. They also increased positions in airline stocks EVA Air (2610-TW) and China Airlines (2618-TW), purchasing a combined 86,000 shares.

Investment trusts and proprietary traders showed similar behavior, both favoring gold mining stocks. Investment trusts bought eight gold-related stocks among their top ten buys and also added around 3,600 shares of Yuanta Taiwan 50, positioning against foreign investors. Proprietary traders included nine gold stocks in their top ten buys, highlighting their strong preference for the sector.