Seoul, Oct 16 — Foreign investors again sold South Korean stocks in September amid rising bond yields and woes over artificial intelligence (AI)-related investment, central bank data showed on Friday.
Offshore investors offloaded a net $14.16 billion worth of local stocks last month, following a net buying of $40 million in August, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), reports Yonhap news agency.
Foreign investors had been net sellers of local stocks since January this year but turned to net buyers in August.
The BOK said foreign investors sold local stocks amid woes that stretched tensions in the Middle East would jack up inflationary pressure and renewed concerns over excessive investment in AI infrastructure.
They sold off $5.81 billion worth of local bonds last month, following a $4.53 billion sell-off the previous month.
The won was trading at 1,352.8 won per dollar at the end of September, compared with 1,368.6 won a month earlier.
Seoul stocks extended gains late on Friday morning as investors went bargain hunting for large-cap tech shares.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 154.88 points, or 2.79 percent, to 5,709.1 as of 11:20 am.
The index had opened higher after tumbling over 7 percent the previous session amid concerns over the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI) trade.
Overnight, major stock indexes on Wall Street closed higher, despite declines in major AI shares, while investors kept a close watch on the latest producer price data, which posted the largest gain in 4 1/2 years in September.
The U.S. Producer Price Index surged 1.3 percent last month, led largely by energy price increases stemming from the ongoing war in the Middle East, fanning expectations the Federal Reserve is likely to maintain a hawkish stance on rates.
In Seoul, chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both added over 2 percent.
Battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 0.99 percent, auto industry leader Hyundai Motor jumped 6.77 percent and defence giant Hanwha Aerospace vaulted 9.1 percent.
The Korean won was trading at 1,345.7 won against the U.S. dollar as of 11:20 a.m., down 3.7 won from the previous stock trading session.