(image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign investors bought South Korean stocks and bonds worth US$3.48 billion in October due to expectations of improved corporate earnings amid eased tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the central bank said Wednesday.
Local stocks and bonds bought by foreign investors stood at $2.84 billion and $650 million, respectively, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said.
It marked a turnaround from the second straight month of sell-offs by foreign investors in August and September.
In August, they sold South Korean stocks and bonds worth $3.25 billion, marking the first month of sell-offs since November 2016, when foreigners offloaded $490 million worth of stocks and bonds.
Tensions spiked on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile tests in recent months.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump had engaged in a war of words, sparking concerns about a possible military conflict on the peninsula.
On Tuesday, Trump did not use fiery words against North Korea during a joint news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Instead, Trump called on North Korea to come to the negotiating table and to make a deal on its nuclear programs.
Meanwhile, volatility in South Korea’s currency markets eased slightly in October from a month earlier due to decreased volatility in the global financial markets.
The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.29 percent in October, compared with 0.37 percent a month earlier, the BOK said.
On average, the Korean won posted 4.3 won in daily value changes against the U.S. dollar in October, unchanged from a month earlier, it said.
The won finished at 1,113.8 against the greenback on Nov. 3, compared with 1,120.4 won at the end of October, the BOK said.
The credit default swaps premium for foreign exchange stabilization bonds came to 71 basis points in October, up from 70 basis points a month earlier, the bank added.
(Yonhap)
