Foreigners Net Sold 2.7 Trillion Won Last Month... "Last Year's Selling Volume Ranked Third Highest Ever"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] In December last year, foreign investors were found to have net sold stocks worth around 2.7 trillion KRW. In the previous month, they had purchased domestic stocks at the largest scale in 7 years and 2 months. Although foreigners sold the third largest amount of stocks since the beginning of last year, the impact on the domestic stock market was limited as the supply-demand主? shifted to individuals.

According to the "December Foreign Securities Investment Trends" announced by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 10th, foreign investors net sold domestic listed stocks worth 2.688 trillion KRW last month and net redeemed listed bonds worth 194 billion KRW, resulting in a total net redemption of 2.882 trillion KRW. As of the end of last month, foreigners held a total of 914.4 trillion KRW in listed securities, including 764.3 trillion KRW (31.4% of market capitalization) in listed stocks and 150.1 trillion KRW (7.3% of outstanding amount) in listed bonds.

Last month, foreigners realized profits by net selling 3.99 trillion KRW in the KOSPI market. In the KOSDAQ market, they net purchased 1.302 trillion KRW. This year, foreigners have net sold a total of 24.4 trillion KRW worth of stocks, marking the third largest net sale on an annual basis. In 2007 and 2008, foreign investors sold domestic stocks worth 24.5 trillion KRW and 36.2 trillion KRW, respectively.

Despite the record-high selling volume by foreigners last year, the domestic stock market continued to rise due to individual investors' supply-demand. During the same period, institutions sold stocks worth 25.5 trillion KRW, but individuals alone purchased nearly 50 trillion KRW worth of stocks, shifting the supply-demand主? to individuals.

By region, net purchases were large in Europe (1.2 trillion KRW) and the Middle East (400 billion KRW). By country, net purchases were made in Ireland (932 billion KRW) and France (520 billion KRW), while net sales occurred in Singapore (2.158 trillion KRW) and the United States (721 billion KRW). The holding scale was led by the United States with 317.4 trillion KRW, accounting for 41.5% of total foreign investment, followed by Europe (234.6 trillion KRW, 30.7%) and Asia (97.2 trillion KRW, 2.2%).

Foreign investment in domestic bonds maintained a net redemption trend following the previous month. Last month, foreign investors net purchased 5.867 trillion KRW of domestic listed bonds, but with 6.061 trillion KRW maturing, the total net redemption was 194 billion KRW.

By region, net investments were made in Europe (900 billion KRW), Asia (200 billion KRW), and the Americas (100 billion KRW), while net redemptions occurred in the Middle East (800 billion KRW). The largest holding scale was in Asia with 73.5 trillion KRW, accounting for 49% of total foreign investment, followed by Europe (45.2 trillion KRW, 30.1%) and the Americas (12.8 trillion KRW, 8.5%).

By bond type, net investment occurred in government bonds (100 billion KRW), while net redemption occurred in monetary stabilization bonds (700 billion KRW). The outstanding balance was dominated by government bonds at 121.8 trillion KRW (81.1%), with special bonds recording 28.3 trillion KRW (18.8%). By remaining maturity, net investments were made in bonds with over 5 years (2.7 trillion KRW) and 1 to less than 5 years (1.7 trillion KRW), while net redemptions occurred in bonds with less than 1 year (4.6 trillion KRW).

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