Stock turnover on the Seoul bourse is showing signs of improvement as the local bourse continues its upward march, boosted by a series of positive expectations such as Samsung Group’s business overhaul, data showed Thursday.

The daily trading volume on the main bourse stayed at 213 million shares in April, the lowest since January 2007 when the comparable figure was 192 million. Also, the daily turnover fell to 3.57 trillion won ($3.48 billion) last month, the lowest since December 2013, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.

But the corresponding figures reached 225 million shares worth 3.75 trillion won through Wednesday this month as the local stock market is on an upswing, fueled by massive foreign buying and speculations about the reorganization of Samsung, the country’s top conglomerate, following the hospitalization of its de facto chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The local stock market has been stagnant, boxed in a tight range since last year as a delayed economic recovery, coupled with a dearth of any positive and negative events, has kept investors on the fence.

The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, carved out a meager 0.72 percent gain last year from the end of 2012. Its annual gain, however, was a sharp fall from the previous year’s annual rise of 9.4 percent.

“Foreign buying is fueling a rise in overall stock turnover, and more investors seem to be leaning toward risky assets,” said Park In-geum, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities.

Foreign investors scooped up local shares worth a net 1.18 trillion won through Wednesday this month with their net buying reaching 2.02 trillion won for the past seven trading sessions.

This month, the KOSPI rose to this year’s high of 2015.59 points on Monday from 1,961.79 points on April 30. (Yonhap)