Foreigners Bought 23 Trillion Won of Domestic Stocks in the First Half... Record High

Financial Supervisory Service Announces Foreign Securities Investment Trends
8 Consecutive Months of 'Buy' Calls Through June

Foreign investors have net purchased nearly 23 trillion won in the domestic stock market in the first half of this year, marking the largest scale on a half-year basis ever recorded. The 'buy' rally continued for eight consecutive months through June.

According to the "June Foreign Securities Investment Trends" announced by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 8th, foreign investors' net purchases of listed stocks in the first half of this year totaled 22.9 trillion won, the highest level since related statistics began in 1998.

In June, foreign investors net purchased 2.898 trillion won worth of listed stocks, continuing their net buying streak for eight consecutive months. Since November last year, foreign investors have maintained a buying advantage in the domestic market. They net purchased 1.949 trillion won in the KOSPI market and 949 billion won in the KOSDAQ market.

By country, the United States (2.1 trillion won) and Luxembourg (1 trillion won) were net buyers, while Singapore (2.9 trillion won) recorded net sales. As of the end of last month, foreign investors' holdings of listed stocks amounted to 859.2 trillion won, accounting for 30% of the total market capitalization.

The net buying trend by foreign investors in the first half is attributed to domestic and international economic conditions and the strength of semiconductor stocks. Amid expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut and a risk-on sentiment, foreign investors heavily purchased domestic semiconductor stocks, fueled by the U.S.-originated artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor stock boom.

Meanwhile, foreign investors switched to net redemption in the bond market for the first time in three months. Last month, foreign investors net purchased 4.371 trillion won in listed bonds and received 5.416 trillion won in maturity repayments, resulting in a total net redemption of 1.045 trillion won.

Foreign investors' holdings of listed bonds stand at 251.5 trillion won, which is about 9.8% of the outstanding listed bonds.