Foreigners turn to net sellers of Korean stocks in Sept.

Seoul, Oct. 16 - Foreign investors offloaded a net $14.16 billion worth of South Korean stocks in September, data from the Bank of Korea revealed on Friday. This comes after they net sold $40 million of local stocks in the previous month, despite having been net buyers since January of the current year. The central bank's data indicates that foreign investors' shift to net sellers was primarily driven by growing concerns over rising bond yields, Middle East tensions potentially driving inflation, and continued worries about excessive investment in AI-related infrastructure.

In September, foreign investors sold $5.81 billion of local bonds, continuing a trend from the previous month where they had also offloaded $4.53 billion in bonds. By the end of September, the Korean won was trading at 1,352.8 per US dollar, a slight drop from 1,368.6 won a month earlier.