Foreigners Make Comeback in One Month... 2.5 Trillion KRW Net Purchase of Domestic Stocks Last Month

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Foreign investors have returned to the domestic stock market after a month. Last month, foreign investors purchased more than 2.5 trillion KRW worth of domestic stocks. The month-end balance of foreign investors' holdings in listed bonds has continuously reached record highs this year.

According to the November foreign securities investment trends announced by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 13th, foreign investors net purchased 2.538 trillion KRW of domestic listed stocks last month, switching to net buying after one month. They net purchased 1.658 trillion KRW in KOSPI and 880 billion KRW in KOSDAQ. By region, Europe net purchased 2.4 trillion KRW, and the Americas net purchased 1.5 trillion KRW. In contrast, the Middle East (1.2 trillion KRW) and Asia (100 billion KRW) net sold.

The value of listed stocks held by foreigners as of the end of November was 734.1 trillion KRW, down 8 trillion KRW from the previous month. The United States accounted for 293.3 trillion KRW, or 40.0% of the total foreign holdings. This was followed by Europe with 227.6 trillion KRW (31.0%), Asia with 104.8 trillion KRW (14.3%), and the Middle East with 24.6 trillion KRW (3.4%).

In the bond market, a net investment trend has been maintained since January this year. Last month, foreigners net purchased 5.342 trillion KRW in listed bonds. They redeemed 2.549 trillion KRW at maturity, resulting in a total net investment of 2.793 trillion KRW. The holding balance at the end of November has continuously set record highs since January. The total bonds held by foreigners as of the end of November amounted to 208.3 trillion KRW, an increase of 3.1 trillion KRW compared to the previous month. This accounts for 9.3% of the listed bond balance.

By region, Asia holds 96.7 trillion KRW, Europe 63.7 trillion KRW, and the Americas 18.8 trillion KRW. By type, government bonds account for 159.6 trillion KRW (76.6%) and special bonds 48.6 trillion KRW (23.4%). As of the end of November, bonds with remaining maturities of 1 to less than 5 years totaled 94.8 trillion KRW, those over 5 years totaled 61.6 trillion KRW, and those under 1 year totaled 51.9 trillion KRW.

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