Foreigners continued to invest in Korean stocks in August, extending their buying streak to a fifth consecutive month although the amount of their net purchases slipped from a month earlier, the country’s financial watchdog said Friday.

Offshore investors scooped up a net 2.5 trillion won ($2.45 billion) worth of local shares last month, compared with a net purchase of 3.6 trillion won in the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

The value of their shareholdings came to 455.9 trillion won as of the end of August, taking up 32.6 percent of the total market capitalization, slightly down from 33.1 percent a month ago.

Korea’s equity market has moved in a narrow range of between 2,050 and 2,080 points as investors wait out on the sidelines amid escalating tensions in Ukraine and a delayed recovery in the United States. The U.S. was the biggest investor with a net 792.7 billion won, followed by Luxembourg with 571.9 billion won and Japan with 492.9 billion won. (Yonhap)