Foreign investors remained net buyers of Japanese stocks for the second straight week last week.

Nonresidents bought 98.45 billion yen more than they sold, following the 134.45 billion yen logged the previous week. The latter total was the highest since the 770.7 billion yen marked in the first week of March, according to industry figures.

There were indications that the continuing slide in New York stock prices prompted a switch toward Japanese equities, brokerage officials said.

Among domestic players, trust banks -- the managers of public pension funds -- turned net sellers.

They logged 13.1 billion yen in net sales, having posted 93.1 billion yen in net purchases the previous week.

For the whole of April, foreign investors registered 121.3 billion yen in net purchases. They posted 627 billion yen in net purchases the previous month.

Trust banks bought 88.3 billion yen more than they sold, signaling an increased flow of money from pension funds.