Foreigners snap 7-month sell-offs of Korean stocks in August

Foreign investors ended their seven-month sell-offs of Korean stocks in August amid extended geopolitical risks and woes over artificial intelligence (AI) profitability, data showed Friday. Offshore investors scooped up a net 340 billion won ($246 million) worth of local stocks last month, snapping their selling binge for seven consecutive months, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Following their net purchases in August, offshore investors owned 2,281 trillion won worth of local stocks, or 34.8 percent of total market capitalization. By country, investors from the United States were the top buyers in August by purchasing a net 13.4 trillion won, followed by Ireland with 3.2 trillion won of buying, the latest findings showed. In the local bond market, foreign investors sold a net 3.94 trillion won worth of local debt last month. Their holdings of Korean bonds stood at 330 trillion won as of end-August, accounting for 11.4 percent of listed bonds here, the FSS revealed.