Net foreign selling in S. Korea hits all-time high in Nov

Seoul, Nov 30 Net foreign selling in South Korea's main stock market reached a fresh monthly high in November while individual investors remained net buyers, the bourse operator said on Sunday.

Foreign investors sold a net 14.4 trillion won (US$9.8 billion) worth of shares on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) throughout November, according to the Korea Exchange, reports Yonhap news agency.

The figure marked the largest monthly net selling by offshore investors, surpassing the previous record of 12.5 trillion won set in March 2020 in the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreigners purchased a net 7.4 trillion won and 5.3 trillion won worth of local shares in September and October, respectively, but turned to net sellers in November.

For the January-November period, foreign net selling totalled 8.8 trillion won.

Insiders said foreigners' appetite for risky assets was dampened by fading expectations for a U.S. rate cut at the Federal Reserve's December meeting and by escalating uncertainties surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

Foreign investors offloaded a net 8.7 trillion won worth of SK hynix shares and 2.2 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics stocks in November. The two companies accounted for 76 percent of foreign net selling for the month.

Doosan Enerbility came in next with 787 billion won in foreign net selling, followed by Naver with 606 billion won and KB Financial Group with 558 billion won.

Meanwhile, individual investors scooped up a net 9.2 trillion won in November, marking the third-largest monthly net buying on record, following 22.3 trillion won in January 2021 and 11.1 trillion won in March 2020.

Their top pick was SK hynix, purchasing a net 5.9 trillion won this month, while they bought a net 1.2 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares.

Doosan Enerbility, Naver and Samsung Epis Holdings were among their most purchased stocks.

The KOSPI saw wide volatility in November, hitting an all-time high of 4,221.87 points on the first trading day of the month before closing at 3,926.59 on Nov. 28.

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