Foreign investors in late 2008 accounted for less than 20% of activity.

By comparison, at last year's Treasury auctions, private foreign investors accounted for only about one-fifth of the purchasing, he said.

Foreign investors accounted for 36 percent of the demand, according to a statement from Rosneft.

Four large investors accounted for roughly half of the Rosneft sale.

Asian investors, including sovereign wealth funds, accounted for 30pc of all deals.

Japanese institutional investors accounted for much of the stock's jump, according to analysts.

Retail investors accounted for all but $100 million of the gain, as total assets reached $308.2 billion.

Institutional investors account for about two-thirds of foreign equity investment in South Korea.

One investor accounted for most of this trading, the trustees said; they did not identify the investor.

Institutional investors accounted for a $2.4 billion rise in the latest week, while the public took $300 million out of taxable funds.