Seoul: Holdings of foreign securities among South Korean investors in the third quarter rose nearly 60 percent from a year earlier, with U.S. stocks dominating investors' foreign portfolio, data showed Monday. Local investors held overseas stocks and bonds worth US$220.3 billion as of end-September, marking a 59.7 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) indicated that the value of U.S. stocks and bonds held by South Korean investors totaled $177.6 billion, which accounted for 80.7 percent of their total overseas securities holdings. Investments in U.S. stocks alone amounted to $155.5 billion, representing about 94 percent of their total overseas equity holdings.

U.S. electric vehicle titan Tesla Motors Inc. emerged as South Korean investors' top pick, with their holdings in the company reaching $27.5 billion. Tesla has maintained its position as the top choice among local investors for the past three consecutive quarters.

Artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp. was the second most popular investment, with holdings of $16.3 billion, followed by Palantir Technologies Inc. at $6.5 billion, Apple Inc. at $4.7 billion, and quantum computing company IonQ Inc. at $3.7 billion.

Meanwhile, the value of overseas securities settled through the KSD stood at $200.8 billion, showing a 12.1 percent increase from the same period a year earlier and a 4 percent rise from the previous quarter.