**Foreign Investors Sell 7 Trillion Won in KOSPI Over a Week**
On the afternoon of the 7th, an electronic board displaying exchange rates is visible in front of a currency exchange in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul.
Foreign investors sold over 7 trillion won worth of KOSPI stocks last week, resulting in the Korean won depreciating nearly 2% against the US dollar in a single week (the exchange rate of the won increased). Among major currencies, the depreciation rate of the won was the highest.
According to the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market on the 9th, the won-dollar exchange rate concluded overnight trading on the 7th at 1,461.5 won. This is the highest level in seven months since April 9, when the US enacted reciprocal tariffs and US-China tensions escalated (1,472 won).
The value of the won against the dollar fell 1.95% from the previous week during the overnight trading session on the 7th. Meanwhile, expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut diminished, resulting in the dollar index, which measures the value of the US dollar against six major currencies, gaining approximately 0.15%.
Among the currencies that make up the dollar index, the EU euro (+0.23%), Japanese yen (+0.33%), and British pound (+0.11%) were stronger against the dollar. The Swiss franc (-0.10%), Swedish krona (-0.42%), and Canadian dollar (-0.14%) showed weaker performance against the dollar, but were negligible compared to the won.
Other Asian currencies like the Australian dollar (-0.66%), Taiwanese dollar (-0.59%), and the offshore Chinese yuan (-0.05%) were also stronger against the won.
Last week, the net sales by foreign investors amounted to 7.2638 trillion won, dragging down the value of the won. They continuously sold stocks in the securities market for five consecutive trading days from the 3rd to the 7th.
This level already surpasses the net foreign purchases in the past month (5.3447 trillion won) and is approaching the level of net foreign purchases in September (7.4465 trillion won).