The money drawn into bond funds has nearly caught up with that for securities funds as investors chose safer assets amid a tepid stock market and rising bond yields following a recent key interest rate cut, data showed Friday.

Bond-type funds amounted to a combined 58.96 trillion won ($55 billion) as of Oct. 6, while securities funds recorded 59.66 trillion won, posting the smallest gap between them since August 2007, according to the data by the Korea Exchange.

Analysts say that with the stock market stuck in a boxed range, investors were diverting money from stock-based funds to bond funds as earnings prospects for market heavyweights turn dimmer.

The Bank of Korea’s base rate cut in August also helped funnel money from securities to bonds, and the trend is likely to last for a while as there is rising hope for another cut in the coming months, they said. (Yonhap)