Foreigners remain net sellers of Korean stocks in Oct.

Foreign investors continued to sell more South Korean stocks than they bought in October, marking the second straight month of net selling, according to central bank data released Thursday. Offshore investors offloaded a combined US$19.31 billion worth of local stocks last month, a notable increase from the US$14.16 billion sold in September, the Bank of Korea (BOK) reported.

This trend persisted despite foreign investors turning net buyers of local stocks in August for the first time since January of this year. The BOK attributed the continued selling pressure to lingering concerns over excessive investment in AI infrastructure. Throughout the first ten months of the year, foreigners had sold a cumulative US$164.34 billion worth of Korean stocks.

In October alone, they purchased US$5.61 billion worth of local bonds, ending three months of bond selling. At the end of October, the won traded at 1,334.3 won per dollar, slightly lower than the 1,352.8 won per dollar seen a month earlier.