The amount of foreign securities held by South Korea's institutional investors edged down in the third quarter from three months earlier because of a plunge in stock investments, central bank data showed Friday.

The value of foreign securities held by the country's institutional investors came to US$114.93 billion at the end of the July-September period, down 0.5 percent from $115.54 billion three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.

The on-quarter drop in the July-September period marked the first of its kind since the second quarter of 2013.

The BOK said that the fall stemmed from a cut in overseas securities held by asset managers, which more than offset gains in foreign securities held by other institutional investors such as insurers.

Overseas securities held by asset managers shrank $4.17 billion from three months earlier to $45.61 billion as of the end of September, while the amount held by insurers and banks rose $3.03 billion and $460 million, respectively, the BOK data showed.

Foreign securities include overseas stocks and bonds, as well as Korean papers or foreign currency-denominated securities issued by the local government, banks or companies in overseas markets.

By type, the value of overseas stocks held by institutional investors came to $35.23 billion at the end of the July-September period, down $5.3 billion from three months earlier, while the value of overseas bonds gained $2.83 billion to top out at $46.42 billion.

The amount of the institutions' investments in Korean papers also rose $1.79 billion to $33.29 billion over the cited period, according to the central bank. (Yonhap)