Korean stocks have soared nearly 80% this year, making them the world’s best-performing market. But hedge fund managers at the Sohn Investment Conference this past week still saw bargains in an often-overlooked market that’s bigger than Canada’s, with gross domestic product per capita on par with Japan. As PLP Funds founder and Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Lennon said, the world “is coming to Korea” as a leader in chips, ships, and defense.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Hedge fund Appaloosa, run by billionaire David Tepper, took an axe to many of its stock holdings in the first quarter of the year, reducing the size of its overall portfolio by nearly a billion dollars compared to the end of 2025 to just under $6 billion.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Federal prosecutors are probing a

BlackRock private-credit fund that surprised investors with a sharp write-down of its loan portfolio earlier this year, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office is investigating the valuation practices of BlackRock’s publicly traded TCP Capital fund, the people said. Bloomberg News earlier reported on the probe. 

Foreign investors continued to pare their exposure to Indian equities, withdrawing Rs 27,048 crore so far this month, indicating cautiousness among global investors amid an evolving global macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.

With this, total outflows by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) from the equity market have reached Rs 2.2 lakh crore in 2026, higher than the Rs 1.66 lakh crore pulled out during the entire 2025, according to data with the NSDL.

FPIs were net sellers in all months of 2026, except February. They withdrew Rs 35,962 crore in January before turning net buyers in February, when they invested Rs 22,615 crore, the highest monthly inflow in 17 months.

However, the trend reversed in March, when foreign investors pulled out a record Rs 1.17 lakh crore. The selling continued in April with net outflows of Rs 60,847 crore and extended into May with withdrawals of over Rs 27,000 crore so far.

Himanshu Srivastava, Principal – Manager Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, said the latest outflow trend reflected persistent uncertainty surrounding global growth, elevated geopolitical tensions across key regions and volatility in crude oil prices, which continued to weigh on risk appetite towards emerging markets, including India.

He added that a stronger US dollar and elevated US bond yields remained key drivers behind the selling activity, as higher returns in developed markets improved the relative attractiveness of safer assets and prompted investors to adopt a more defensive stance.
Srivastava further said concerns over the trajectory of global inflation and uncertainty regarding the pace and timing of future interest rate cuts by major central banks continued to influence capital allocation decisions globally.Geojit Investments Chief Investment Strategist V K Vijayakumar said sustained FPI selling, coupled with a widening current account deficit, has exerted pressure on the rupee.

“At the beginning of the year, the rupee was at 90 to the US dollar. On May 15, it breached the 96-mark to touch 96.14,” he said.

Vijayakumar said the rupee could weaken further if FPI outflows persist and crude oil prices remain elevated. He also noted that the continuing flow of capital into artificial intelligence-focused companies globally has led to some diversion of funds away from markets such as India, which are seen as lagging in the AI space.

“This trend could reverse when the AI trade, which appears to be in bubble territory, eventually cools off,” he added. PTI

To the Editor:
The current airline business model may be wrong (“Farewell, Ultra-Cheap Flights. What Spirit’s Demise Means for You—and Airline Stocks,” Cover Story, May 8). A hundred years ago, Boeing was vertically integrated. It manufactured the airframe and engine, owned an airline, and operated its airliners. The antitrust bureaucrats and the courts forced Boeing into being only an original equipment manufacturer. Maybe there will be an opportunity to replicate such a model in the future.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8