Foreigners turn net buyers of local stocks in November

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Yonhap) -- Foreign investors purchased a net of about US$2.52 billion worth of shares on South Korea's stock market in November as they picked up chips and other related tech shares, central bank data showed Thursday.

That marked a turnaround from the previous month's net selling of local stocks by foreign investors valued at $2.65 billion, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.

The net purchase was mostly driven by increased investment in chipmakers and related tech firms amid expectations their overall market conditions will improve, the central bank explained.

Foreigners also bought a net $2.62 billion worth of local bonds, the 11th consecutive month of net purchase since January, the data showed.

If combined, foreigners' net purchase of stocks and bonds in the local financial markets totaled $5.14 billion in November.

Meanwhile, the premium on credit default swap (CDS) for South Korea's five-year dollar-denominated currency stabilization bonds stood at 19 basis points in November, down from the previous month's 20 basis points. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

The CDS premium reflects the cost of hedging credit risks on corporate or sovereign debt. A fall implies improvement in the credit of sovereign bonds and higher costs.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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