Foreign investors increased their holdings of Canadian securities by $6.2 billion, reversing most of their $7.6 billion divestment in February, Statistics Canada said today. The investment was spread over both equity and debt instruments.

Meanwhile, StatsCan said Canadian investors continued to add to their holdings of foreign securities, primarily in foreign bonds.

“Foreign investors bought $3.6 billion of Canadian equities in March, resuming the trend that began in April 2003 but which was interrupted with the divestment of $1.9 billion in February,” StatsCan said.

They also added $2.3 billion in Canadian bond holdings after reducing them by $3.9 billion in February.

Foreign holdings of Canadian money market paper rose by $300 million in March, the first increase of 2004, the agency said.

Canadians added another $1 billion to their holdings of foreign bonds in March, the fourth consecutive monthly investment, for al total of $4.9 billion.

Underlying a $100 million investment in foreign stocks by Canadians, were purchases of $1.1 billion of U.S. equities, mostly countered by a selloff of $1 billion of overseas stocks.