Foreign investors were net-sellers of South Korean stocks for the third straight month in October on the back of geopolitical instability induced by the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Data from the Bank of Korea released on Friday showed a net offload of two-point-22 billion U.S. dollars in stocks last month, climbing from the net selling of 910 million dollars and one-point-33 billion dollars respectively in August and September.

Foreigners also sold a net 580 million dollars in local bonds in October, up drastically from a net sale of just 100 million dollars a month earlier.

The combined total of South Korean stocks and bonds offloaded by foreigners was the largest since April of 2022, when three-point-78 billion dollars were sold.