(Reuters) – Foreign investors sold off Japanese stocks in the week ending January 4, riding on 2024 gains while aiming to reduce risks amid an unusually long market closure.
Foreigners sold 74 billion yen ($468.30 million) worth of Japanese stocks during the week, after a net accumulation of about 562.7 billion yen the previous week.
They took about 1.23 trillion yen worth of Japanese stocks in 2024, especially in the first half of the year, and lost about 4.77 trillion yen worth of stocks in the second half.
The index gained 19.22% last year, marking its second best annual performance in 11 years. However, after trading resumed on Monday, the index fell 1.15% this week as investors started taking profits after the recent rally.
Foreigners bought about 227.5 billion yen worth of Japanese debt securities last week, halting a three-week selling trend. Foreign investors snapped up 154.8 billion yen worth of long-term bonds and 72.7 billion yen in short-term instruments.
In parallel, Japanese investors added $325.1 billion worth of foreign stocks, recording a fourth consecutive weekly net buying.
However, they pulled back from foreign bonds for the third straight week, with a net sale of 331.8 billion yen in long-term debt and a net sale of 4.9 billion yen in short-term debt securities.
($1 = 158.0200 yen)
