BASLE, Switzerland (AFP) -- International investors are turning en masse toward government bonds and abandoning the stock market in the search for safe investments, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in its quarterly report published on Monday.

After the worldwide turn in the stock market in mid-May investors demonstrated "a bigger aversion to risk" and "adjusted their portfolios in favor of top quality products like state bonds", it said.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international organization which fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks.

The bank said the global volume of medium and long term bonds increased by nine percent in net terms to 622 billion dollars (492 billion euros) over the first quarter.

Bond purchases in the United States led the way, followed by those in the eurozone.

Bond issues in emerging economies also grew by 33 percent to 42 billion dollars, a new record.

There was also an "acceleration of transactions" in the area of financial derivatives with the total number of contracts on stock index futures, interest rate futures and forex derivatives increasing by 25 percent to 429,000 billion dollars.

In the banking sector debts continued to increase in the fourth quarter of 2005, particularly in the eurozone and as regards loans to Japanese and American clients, the BIS said.