Foreign Investors Sold Nearly 20 Trillion Won in Stocks in February, Yet Their Holdings Surpassed 2,000 Trillion Won

According to The Financial News, foreign investors posted net sales of nearly 20 trillion won in the domestic stock market last month, extending their selling streak for a second consecutive month. In contrast, more than 7 trillion won flowed into the bond market, mainly into government bonds, marking a fourth straight month of net investment.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced on the 27th in its report on "Foreign Securities Investment Trends in February" that foreign investors recorded net sales of 19.558 trillion won in listed stocks and net purchases of 7.432 trillion won in listed bonds last month, resulting in a net withdrawal of 12.126 trillion won. In equities, they showed a selling advantage of 19.319 trillion won in the Stock Market Division of the Korea Exchange and 239 billion won in the KOSDAQ market.
Selling in the stock market was led by investors from English-speaking countries such as the United States and United Kingdom. By country, the United States recorded the largest outflow with net sales of 8.673 trillion won, followed by the United Kingdom at 4.653 trillion won and Canada at 1.524 trillion won. Ireland, with net purchases of 1.441 trillion won, and France, with 1.201 trillion won, moved in the opposite direction and were net buyers.
Despite the large-scale net selling, foreign investors’ stock holdings exceeded 2,000 trillion won for the first time on record. As of the end of February, their holdings of listed stocks stood at 2,025.54 trillion won, an increase of more than 324 trillion won from the previous month. This is attributed to the rise in the market, which boosted the valuation of their holdings by more than the amount they sold. Foreign investors accounted for 32.6% of the total market capitalization.
In the bond market, the net investment trend continued for a fourth consecutive month. Foreign investors made net purchases of 10.691 trillion won in listed bonds last month and received 3.259 trillion won in redemptions at maturity, resulting in net investment of 7.432 trillion won.

elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter