Seoul: Foreign investors turned to net sellers of South Korean securities in August, driven by profit-taking in equities and reduced arbitrage opportunities in the bond market, central bank data showed Friday. Offshore investors purchased a net US$180 million worth of local stocks last month, while they offloaded $770 million worth of bonds, resulting in a combined net outflow of $600 million, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

According to Yonhap News Agency, it marked the first monthly decline in foreign securities investment in four months. A BOK official noted that net inflows of equity investment slowed significantly in August due to profit-taking in semiconductor and some other sectors. In the bond market, maturities and a decline in arbitrage opportunities led to net outflows.

The central bank also noted that the Korean won remained nearly unchanged against the U.S. dollar in August, hovering in the 1,390 won range. Daily fluctuations in the won-dollar exchange rate edged up, averaging 5.8 won in August compared with 5.1 won in July, the BOK added.