Foreign Investors Offload 7.7 Trillion Won in Stocks; Won-Dollar Exchange Rate Hits Post-Financial Crisis High

The won-dollar exchange rate closed the daytime trading session in the mid-1,540 won range today (June 29), marking its highest level since the global financial crisis, as foreign investors sold off a massive amount of domestic stocks.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate ended the daytime session at 1,545.2 won, up 13.2 won from the previous close as of 3:30 p.m.

The exchange rate, which had fallen by 10.7 won in the previous trading session, returned to an upward trend in just one day.

It not only erased all the gains from the previous session but climbed even higher.

The exchange rate has closed the daytime session in the 1,500 won range for over a month, starting from May 15.

Based on the daytime closing price, this is the highest level since March 9, 2009 (1,549.0 won).

The exchange rate opened at 1,536.5 won, up 4.5 won, and expanded its gains after the opening, reaching as high as 1,545.7 won around 1:22 p.m.

Although it appeared to slightly pare back its gains about an hour before the market closed, it rose sharply again just before the closing bell.

However, the intraday high was not higher than previous levels.

The exchange rate faced upward pressure today as foreign investors continued their selling spree in the KOSPI market.

Foreigners sold approximately 7.7 trillion won worth of stocks today, marking their seventh consecutive day of net selling.

The scale of net selling is the largest since September 17, 2001, when relevant data began to be tracked by Infomax.

It appears that the exodus of foreign capital from the domestic stock market is accelerating as investor sentiment toward tech stocks has dampened following news that OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is considering delaying its initial public offering (IPO) until next year.

In fact, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 0.24% on June 26 (local time).

The KOSPI closed at 8,394.65, down 0.20%.

Heightened geopolitical risks in the Middle East over the weekend also pushed the exchange rate higher.

Although the United States and Iran have agreed to halt armed clashes and resume negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz, concerns remain in the market that tensions in the Middle East could reignite.

While there were estimated interventions by foreign exchange authorities and dollar selling by exporters at the end of the half-year, these were not enough to break the foreign selling trend.

The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against six major currencies, stood at 101.275, down 0.13.

The yen-dollar exchange rate rose 0.12 yen to 161.838 yen.

The won-yen cross rate stood at 954.77 won, up 7.22 won from the closing price at 3:30 p.m. on the previous trading day.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.