Foreigners remain net sellers of S. Korean stocks for 2nd month in Sept.

Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean shares for a second straight month in September while continuing to net purchase local bonds, data showed Friday. Offshore investors net sold 7.36 trillion won (US$5.45 billion) worth of local shares last month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Foreigners had net sold 2.51 trillion won worth of listed shares in August, ending their nine-month buying streak. As of end-September, the value of local shares held by foreign investors stood at 746.9 trillion won, marking a 55.1 trillion-won decline from a month ago. The amount accounted for 28 percent of total market capitalization, down 1.2 percentage points from 29.2 percent tallied at end-August. By nation, investors from France net purchased the largest amount of 800 billion won in local shares, while those from the United States dumped 2.8 trillion won. Despite net selling local shares, foreigners net purchased 3.63 trillion won worth of listed bonds in September, becomin g net buyers of local bonds for a second consecutive month. Their bond holdings came to 263.4 trillion won as of end-September, up 4.1 trillion won from a month earlier and accounting for 10.3 percent of total listed bonds here. Source: Yonhap News Agency