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

Foreign investors halted their seven-month streak of selling Korean stocks in August, driven by persistent global tensions and concerns over the profitability of artificial intelligence (AI) investments, according to data released on Friday. Offshore investors actively purchased a net 340 billion won ($246 million) worth of local stocks during the month, marking their first net buying spree in seven consecutive months, as reported by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Following their purchases in August, offshore investors now own a total of 2,281 trillion won worth of local stocks, representing 34.8 percent of the market's total capitalization. By country, U.S. investors led the buying activity in August, acquiring a net 13.4 trillion won, while Irish investors followed with 3.2 trillion won in net purchases, the latest findings revealed.

In the local bond market, foreign investors sold a net 3.94 trillion won worth of Korean debt last month. Their holdings of Korean bonds were valued at 330 trillion won at the end of August, accounting for 11.4 percent of listed bonds in the country, as disclosed by the FSS.