Foreigners net sold shares for the fifth quarter in a row – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country

New figures from Statistics Norway show that for the fifth quarter in a row, foreign investors are selling Norwegian shares for a larger amount than they buy them for. During the third quarter, foreigners net sold shares for NOK 8,029 million. In the last five quarters, foreign shareholders have withdrawn a total of NOK 64 billion from the Norwegian stock market. – Haven’t had so many quarters in a row with net sales – When you look at foreigners’ net purchases, it’s quite clear that we have a new trend. In recent times, we have not had so many quarters in a row with net sales, says Robert Næss, investment director at Nordea. Investment director Robert Næss at Nordea. Photo: Emma-Marie B. Whittaker / n652996 The time series in which the Statistics Norway figures appear goes back to 2012. It is part of history that in the quarters before the net sales started after the summer of last year, there were net purchases of listed shares for far greater amounts than the which has now been withdrawn from the Norwegian stock market. At the end of the third quarter, foreign investors owned listed shares worth NOK 1,597 billion, corresponding to around 40 percent of the total value of the companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, according to Statistics Norway. Foreign investments in Norwegian shares increased sharply towards the end of 2020 and in the period up to last summer. The cash flows may probably be related to sharply increased oil and gas prices during the period. Have not analyzed the significance for the krona – It is interesting to see whether the net sales can affect the currency. The krone has been weak lately. But in the second quarter of 2022, when foreigners bought massively, the krone was also weak, says Næss. He has made a graph for news that shows the development in the krone exchange rate and foreigners’ net purchases of kroner over time. But a clear connection in the development between the two is not so easy to spot. – The graph does not give a clear answer, he says. Norges Bank has no comment on whether foreigners’ net sales of shares may have had a significant impact on the development of the krone exchange rate in the third quarter. From what news understands, the central bank has also not analyzed the potential impact of net sales on the krona in isolation.



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