Foreign sell-off continues on sliding oil prices, coronavirus scare

SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- Foreign investors extended their selling binge of local stocks to a fourth day on Tuesday as they fretted over the globally spreading novel coronavirus and a headlong fall in oil prices.

Foreign investors sold a net 985.1 billion won (US$825.4 million) worth of local stocks on Tuesday. Foreigners have been net sellers since Thursday.

Offshore investors sold a net 1.3 trillion won on Monday alone, the largest amount on record.

The foreign sell-off came after the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 7.8 percent on Monday (local time), setting off Wall Street's first trading halt, or circuit breaker, since 1997.

A headlong fall in oil prices, including a 24.6 percent fall in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, also raised fears that the contagious COVID-19 is swamping the world economy.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price (KOSPI) Index rose 8.16 points, or 0.42 percent, to close at 1,962.93 on Tuesday, rebounding from a six-week low.

Strong institutional and individual buying offset the foreign sell-off, pulling up the index for the first time in three sessions.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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