Korean retail investors sell over 1 trillion won in overseas stocks in 1st week of June

Korean retail investors sold over 1 trillion won ($641 billion) worth of overseas stocks in the first week of June, data showed Sunday, suggesting their possible return to the local stock market amid record-breaking gains led by semiconductor shares.

Local retailers sold a net $793.67 million worth of foreign stocks from Monday through Friday, continuing their net selling streak that began in April, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository.

The figure far surpassed the net selling of $469 million in April and approached the $939.77 million recorded in May.

If the trend continues through the end of this month, the net selling streak will extend to a third consecutive month for the first time since the April to July period of 2023.

The selling streak, which has continued despite record highs in the three major U.S. stock indexes — the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average — has fueled expectations that Korean retail investors may return to the domestic stock market.

Korea's benchmark Kospi hit a historic landmark of over 8,000 points in late May on expectations that the United States and Iran may be nearing a deal to end the war in the Middle East.

Yonhap