Foreigners Buy Stocks After Two Months... "Impact of Dollar Weakness and Corporate Earnings Improvement"

Net Purchase of Domestic Stocks Worth 1.358 Trillion KRW
Stock Investment Worth 1.3 Trillion KRW in the UK

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Foreign investors bought stocks in the domestic securities market for the first time in two months, influenced by the weak dollar and improved corporate earnings. Bonds turned to net investment after one month.

According to the 'October Foreign Securities Investment Trends' announced by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 9th, foreign investors net purchased listed stocks worth 1.358 trillion KRW and also made net investments of 208 billion KRW in listed bonds last month. As a result, as of the end of last month, foreign investors held a total of 735.6 trillion KRW in listed securities, including 584.8 trillion KRW (30.4% of market capitalization) in listed stocks and 150.7 trillion KRW (7.4% of outstanding amount) in listed bonds.

In the listed stock market last month, foreign investors net purchased a total of 1.358 trillion KRW, with 1.062 trillion KRW in the KOSPI market and 296 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market. Although they maintained net sales consecutively in August and September, the weak dollar and improved corporate earnings were reflected, leading to a return to net buying after two months.

By region, Europe bought stocks worth 2 trillion KRW, while the Americas (900 billion KRW), Asia (300 billion KRW), and the Middle East (200 billion KRW) continued net sales. By country, the United Kingdom led with 1.3 trillion KRW. Conversely, the United States (842 billion KRW), Singapore (385 billion KRW), and Saudi Arabia (210 billion KRW) had large net sales.

In terms of holdings, the United States accounted for 243.7 trillion KRW, representing 41.7% of the total foreign holdings. Europe held 176 trillion KRW (30.1%), Asia 76 trillion KRW (13%), and the Middle East 21.3 trillion KRW (3.6%). In Europe, the United Kingdom held 44.5 trillion KRW (7.6%) and Luxembourg 39 trillion KRW (6.7%).

In the domestic listed bond market, foreign investors net purchased bonds worth 4.89 trillion KRW, but with 3.881 trillion KRW in maturities repaid, the total net investment was 208 billion KRW. Although the previous month saw net withdrawals due to record-high maturities, last month turned to net investment. As of the end of last month, foreign holdings of domestic bonds stood at 150.7 trillion KRW, down 200 billion KRW from the previous month, representing 7.4%.

By region, net investments were made in Asia (400 billion KRW), the Americas (400 billion KRW), and the Middle East (200 billion KRW), while Europe saw net withdrawals of 50 billion KRW. In terms of holdings, Asia accounted for 71 trillion KRW, representing 47.1% of total foreign investment. This was followed by Europe (46.4 trillion KRW, 30.8%) and the Americas (12.3 trillion KRW, 8.2%).

By type, net investments were made in government bonds (500 billion KRW), while net withdrawals occurred in Monetary Stabilization Bonds (500 billion KRW). The outstanding balance was

dominated by government bonds at 121 trillion KRW, accounting for 80.3%, and special bonds at 30 trillion KRW, accounting for 19.7%.

By remaining maturity, net investments were made in bonds with remaining maturities of 1 to less than 5 years and over 5 years, amounting to 3.2 trillion KRW and 400 billion KRW respectively, while bonds with less than 1 year remaining maturity saw net withdrawals of 3.4 trillion KRW. Accordingly, the outstanding balance was highest in bonds with 1 to less than 5 years maturity at 57.1 trillion KRW (37.9%), followed by less than 1 year (47.8 trillion KRW, 31.7%) and over 5 years (48.5 trillion KRW, 30.4%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.