Offshore investors remained net buyers of local stocks for the second consecutive month in May on rallies on the Seoul bourse from confidence in global economic recovery, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.

However, total investment volume more than halved, the Financial Supervisory Service added.

Foreigners scooped up a net 1.5 trillion won ($1.48 billion) worth of local shares last month, down 60 percent from the 3.8 trillion won net purchase in the previous month, according to the FSS.

The value of their shareholdings came to 437.1 trillion won as of the end of May, accounting for 32.5 percent of the total market capitalization, slightly up from 32.1 percent in April.

The buying streak was fueled by rallies on the main bourse last month as the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep its stimulus plan for a while and the European Central Bank signaled additional boosting measures. The benchmark KOSPI hit a near six-month high of 2,017 points in mid-May. (Yonhap)