Foreign net selling hits 5-plus-year high in Oct.

Net selling by foreign investors hit a five-plus-year high in October after months of strong buying.

International investors unloaded a net 4.6 trillion won ($4.08 billion) worth of South Korean stocks in October, according to data released Monday, as they were rattled by an ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing and rising borrowing costs in developed economies.

It’s the highest level of selling in five years and four months.

Korean shares plunged across the board last month, setting 2018 record lows for six consecutive days.

October was the first month since June this year that foreign investors were net sellers of local stocks, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement.

From July to September, they were net buyers.

Investors from Britain, the Netherlands and the United States were among net sellers of equities last month, according to the FSS data.

At the end of October, foreign investors held a total of 524.6 trillion won worth of local stocks, accounting for 32.2 percent of the nation’s total market capitalization.

Foreigners sold a net 274 billion won worth of local bonds during the month. They were net sellers of local bonds for six straight months, according to the data.

Foreign holdings of local debt stood at 111.8 trillion won at the end of last month, accounting for 6.5 percent of the total market.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, YONHAP [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]