Foreigners cash out S. Korean stocks for 2 months

Foreign investors sold South Korean stocks for two straight months, but the sales value reduced as the European Central Bank said it would expand monetary easing, financial watchdog data showed on Wednesday.

Foreign selling of local listed stocks amounted to 949 billion won (875 million U.S. dollars) in January, down from 1.9 trillion won worth of sales in December, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

The reduced foreign sales came as the ECB announced its plan to print money to stimulate the sluggish economy in the region.

European investors led the January selloff by dumping a net 1. 56 trillion won worth of stocks, but Asian investors bought shares worth 350 billion won. Chinese and the U.S. investors purchased stocks worth 307 billion won and 63 billion won respectively.

Foreign holdings of local listed stocks accounted for 31.2 percent of the total market capitalization as of the end of January.

Foreign net investment in local bonds posted a net inflow of 60 billion won in January. The net investment means foreign net buying minus maturing debts.

Chinese investors led the January increase by making a net investment worth 711 billion won. It was followed by Norwegian investors with 253 billion won and French investors with 250 billion won.

Foreign ownership of domestic bonds reached 100.4 trillion won as of end-January. Endi