Seoul - Foreign investors sold South Korean stocks for the third consecutive month in October, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions, particularly the Israel-Hamas conflicts. Data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) revealed that offshore investors offloaded a net US$2.22 billion worth of local stocks last month.
According to Yonhap news Agency, this followed net sales of $1.33 billion and $910 million in September and August, respectively.
The central bank attributed the trend to growing concerns over the Israel-Hamas conflicts, which have fueled risk aversion among investors. Additionally, foreigners sold a net $580 million worth of local bonds in October, compared to net selling of $100 million in the previous month. This combined selling of stocks and bonds is the largest since April last year. The premium on credit default swaps (CDS) for South Korea's five-year dollar-denominated currency stabilization bonds also rose, indicating higher credit risk and borrowing costs for the country.