Foreigners sell stocks, buy bonds in June

The Financial Supervisory Service office in Yeouido, western Seoul. [YONHAP]

Foreign investors sold a total of 322 billion won ($247.1 million) worth of Korean stocks in June, turning to net sellers in three months, data showed Sunday.

With the sell-off, cumulative holdings of listed stocks by foreigners came to 691.7 trillion won, or 26.9 percent of total market capitalization, as of end-June, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

In contrast, foreigners bought a net 2.05 trillion won worth of Korean bonds last month, making net investment for the fourth consecutive month.

Their cumulative holdings of bonds totaled 242.8 trillion won, accounting for 9.9 percent of listed bonds as of end June.

By country, the United States was the top net buyer of stocks, followed by Norway and Singapore, while Cayman Islands was the top net seller, trailed by Saudi Arabia and Britain.

As of end-June, the U.S. was the biggest holder of South Korean stocks among foreign countries, possessing 283.7 trillion won, or 41 percent of total listed stocks held by foreigners.

Yonhap