Foreign Investors Sell Japanese Stocks

(Reuters) – Foreign investors were net sellers of Japanese stocks in the week to August 20 for the first time in nine weeks. They became cautious, locking in profits after a tech stock selloff stalled a market rally.

They divested a net 496.8 billion yen ($3.37 billion) worth of Japanese stocks, marking their first weekly net sales since June 21, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance released on Thursday.

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.72% last week after hitting a record high of 43,876.42 earlier in the week.

Technology investor SoftBank Group, which surged 43.9% this month to a record high of 16,995 yen, ended the week down 9.9% following heavy selling. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest also lost 4.7% over the week.

Japanese long-term bonds experienced a net foreign outflow of 106 billion yen as foreigners ended a two-week buying streak. They also sold short-term bills worth a net 36.1 billion yen.

Meanwhile, Japanese investors withdrew a net 306.1 billion yen from foreign stocks last week, marking the third weekly net sales in four weeks.

International long-term bonds lost a net 167.2 billion yen in Japanese investments last week as net sales continued for a second week.

($1 = 147.3300 yen)