Foreign investors have been net sellers of Japanese stocks for six straight weeks, exchange data showed, due to persisting worries that a China-led slowdown in demand could hurt the global economy. According to data released by the Japan Exchange Group on Tuesday (September 29), foreigners sold a total of 786 billion yen ($6.56 billion) worth of Japanese cash stocks during September 14-18, making that the sixth straight week of net selling.
During the six weeks combined, foreigners were net sellers of 3.73 trillion yen ($31.14 billion) of shares.
Brokerages that track historical data say six weeks is the longest such streak since the summer of 2012, when worries about Europe hit global equities.
The latest weekly net sales are smaller than the prior week's 1.034 trillion yen, but "we can't say selling has paused yet," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
He said China worries may keep foreign investors on edge for a while.
The Nikkei 225 shed 1.1 percent during the week ended September 18. On that Friday, the index dropped 2 percent after the Federal Reserve held off raising US interest rates.
During the same week, trust banks, which manage corporate pension trusts and national pension fund trusts, bought a net 53 billion yen in Japanese cash stocks. This made them net buyers for four consecutive weeks.
On Tuesday, the Nikkei tumbled 4.1 percent to 16,930.84, wiping out its year-to-date gains.