HONG KONG - Global hedge funds' selling of ​emerging Asia ⁠market stocks last week was the ‌most since April 2025 amid heightened risk aversion, according ​to a Goldman Sachs client note seen by Reuters.

Last ​April was ​when the Trump administration announced hefty tariffs on global trading partners.

The selloff, which ⁠was mainly short-selling, was concentrated in Taiwan, Korea, and India while short-selling of China stocks was relatively mild, the prime brokerage ​note tracking ‌the week to ⁠Thursday, March ⁠19, said.

As the Iran war intensified, all major ​regions were net sold, led ‌in dollar terms by ⁠North America and emerging Asian markets, it said. Even so, global hedge funds' exposure to emerging Asian markets remains around record highs.

Korea and Taiwan are among the world's top-performing markets so far this year, as investors piled into semiconductor-related stocks including Samsung ‌Electronics , SK Hynix and TSMC, betting ⁠on the surging artificial intelligence demand.

Taiwan's ​benchmark index slumped 5% and Korean stocks fell 3% in early trade on Monday ​after ‌the United States and Iran traded ⁠escalating threats.

(Reporting by ​Summer Zhen; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)