Foreign investors turned to net sellers for the first time in five months in June as the global financial market tumbled due to growing risks of a possible U.S. rate hike and a potential Greek default, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.
Offshore investors dumped a net 389 billion won ($344.7 million) worth of local stocks in June, shifting from the 1.35 trillion-won net buying in the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.
They had held on to the net-buyer position since February but changed their position last month on rising concerns about a Grexit, or Greek exit from the eurozone.
The total value of their shareholdings came to 445.1 trillion won as of the end of June, accounting for 29.3 percent of the total market capitalization, down from 30.1 percent a month ago.
Britain investors led the selling, offloading 2.3 trillion won worth of Korean shares last month, followed by Singaporeans with a net selling of 401 billion won and the Swiss with 348.9 billion won.
In contrast, U.S. investors scooped up 3.2 trillion won last month, while those from Luxembourg bought a net 192.9 billion won and Japanese investors snapped up a net 168.9 billion won.
In the local bond market, foreigners also swung to net sellers for the first time in six months in June, dumping a net 561 billion won worth of local debts, which is in stark contrast from a two-year high of 3.2 trillion-won net buying a month ago.
Their bond holdings stood at 105.6 trillion won as of end-June, down 360 billion won from a month earlier.
French investors sold a net 669.8 billion won worth of local debts, while Britain and Luxembourg sold a net 458.5 billion won and 234.8 billion won, respectively. (Yonhap)
