Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in January, but their net investment in local bonds continued to expand, data showed Monday.
Foreigners sold a net 1.68 trillion won ($1.4 billion) worth of local stocks last month, compared with their net purchase of 4.36 trillion won in December, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
It represented offshore investors' first net selling of South Korean stocks in three months.
Investors from the United States bought a net 2 trillion won worth of local stocks last month, with net selling by European and Asian investors reaching 2.3 trillion won and 1.3 trillion won, respectively.
As of end-January, foreigners held 722.5 trillion won worth of local listed stocks, accounting for 28.2 percent of the total market capitalization.
US investors held the largest proportion of local stocks at 293.8 trillion won, 40.7 percent of offshore investors' total holdings.
Foreigners' net investment in South Korean bonds amounted to 3.67 trillion won in January, compared with the previous month's 5.56 trillion won, according to the data.
Their bond holdings reached a new all-time high of 217.8 trillion won as of end-January, with Asian investors holding 46.3 percent of the total. (Yonhap)
