Foreigners dumped Japan’s stocks then piled in like never before

(Bloomberg) — The turmoil triggered by the Bank of Japan’s recent interest rate hike has produced two more entries for the record book: All time highs for both inflows and outflows in the nation’s stocks last week.

Global investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks in the week ending Aug. 9 as trading recovered from an historic rout. Gross sales totaled ¥31.3 trillion ($210 billion), the most since at least 2005, preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance showed. Gross purchases were ¥31.9 trillion, also a record over the same period.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average ( ^N225 ) slumped 12% on Aug. 5, the biggest percentage fall since Black Monday in 1987, before rebounding 10% the next day. The net buying last week was the first time in four, indicating that investors sold the securities first and then bought them back.

The data underscores overseas investors’ strong appetite for Japanese equities even after the unwinding of yen-funded carry trades sent shock waves through broader markets. Bruce Kirk, chief Japan equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ( GS ), said foreign investors are looking to buy Japanese stocks.

Updated MOF weekly data is expected later Friday and comes ahead of more comprehensive trading figures from Tokyo’s exchange after market close. While the two data sets generally paint a similar picture, sometimes there are significant gaps due to differences in coverage.

The Nikkei has risen 8.2% this week, set for its steepest advance since April 2020.