Foreigners’ buying binge helped market in Sept.

Foreign investors continued their buying binge in the stock market for a second consecutive month in September, as the latest slew of global stimulus measures fueled appetites for risky assets, the financial regulator said yesterday.

Overseas investors scooped up a net 3.1 trillion won ($2.78 billion) worth of local equities last month, with their combined net purchase reaching 10.3 trillion won in the July-September period, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

The value of their shareholdings reached 409 trillion won as of end of September, and foreign stock ownership inched up to 31.8 percent of the total market cap from 31.4 percent in August, it said.

European investors were the biggest net buyers, with the British and French snapping up a net 1.2 trillion won and 479 billion won each. Those from the United States trailed behind with a net 242 billion won.

Luxembourg, which had opted to reduce its holdings in local stocks in July and August, turned to a net buyer with 241.5 billion won last month, the FSS said.

In contrast, the Netherlands snapped its eight-month buying streak to unload a net 600 billion won last month, followed by Canada with a net 67.3 billion won sell-off.

Meanwhile, foreign ownership of local bonds climbed slightly to 88.3 trillion won last month, from 86.8 trillion won in the previous month, buoyed by the back-to-back sovereign rating upgrades of Korea by three global credit appraisers.

Yonhap