Foreigners turn net buyers of S. Korean stocks in April

Foreign investors turned net buyers of South Korean equities in April, ending their four-month selling spree, the central bank said Wednesday.

Foreigners purchased a net $590 million worth of local stocks last month, compared with net selling of $2.58 billion in March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Offshore investors, however, remained net buyers of Korean bonds worth $2.74 billion last month, the BOK said.

Meanwhile, volatility in South Korea's currency slightly fell in April from the previous month, the central bank said.

The daily fluctuation of the dollar-won exchange rate came to an average of 3.2 won last month, down from 3.5 won a month earlier.

Situations for the country's foreign currency borrowing remained sound as the spread charged on local banks' short-term, as well as mid- and long-term, overseas borrowing declined, the BOK said.

The spread on credit default swaps for South Korea's five-year dollar-denominated currency stabilization bonds came in at 21 basis points in April, down from 22 basis points a month earlier. (Yonhap)