Indonesia and Thailand record foreign equity outflows in October
Vietnam and the Philippines attracted foreign inflows, while net withdrawals across seven Asian equity markets reached US$49.8 billion.
Overseas investors were net sellers of US$938 million in Indonesian equities and US$199 million in Thai equities in October, according to LSEG data, as foreign money flowed out of Asian stock markets.
Vietnam and the Philippines moved in the opposite direction, attracting net foreign investment of US$122 million and US$109 million, respectively, during the month.
Across those four markets plus South Korea, Taiwan and India, net foreign withdrawals totalled US$49.8 billion—the biggest monthly outflow since June. Taiwan accounted for US$30.7 billion, its largest withdrawal recorded since at least January 2008, while South Korea lost US$14.6 billion.
Wael Makarem, lead financial market strategist at Exness, linked the selling to investors reducing AI-related holdings amid doubts about infrastructure expenditure and profitability. He said expectations of stricter environmental scrutiny and regulation before the US midterm elections had raised concerns about data centre building and demand for chips.
The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index dropped 6.9 per cent in October, while the MSCI All Country World Index declined 1.7 per cent. Some analysts said investors may have shifted funds from Asian equities towards developed markets.
