KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Foreign funds returned to Bursa Malaysia last week after four consecutive weeks of net foreign outflows, with foreign net buying of RM11.5 million worth of equities, said MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd (MIDF Research).
In its Fund Flow Report for the week ended March 31, 2023, MIDF Research said it was a weak start last week as Monday saw a net foreign outflow of RM80.1 million.
However, the sentiment improved from Tuesday onwards after the data released by the statistics department showed that the producer price index (PPI) shrank by 0.8 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in February 2023 against 1.3 per cent y-o-y growth in January 2023.
“The contraction was attributed to the base effect and lower prices of primary commodities.
“In addition, worries that stemmed from the bank turmoil in the United States and Europe seem to have eased, causing better sentiment,” it said.
MIDF said Friday saw the highest net foreign inflow of RM59.6 million, while the lowest net buying was on Tuesday at RM1.0 million.
Year-to-date, foreigners had net sold RM1.87 billion worth of equities.
The top three sectors that saw net foreign inflows last week were financial services (RM51.5 million), technology (RM22.6 million), and healthcare (RM16.8 million), while the top three sectors that saw net foreign outflows were utilities (RM54.3 million), REITs (RM15.6 million) and energy (RM13.3 million).
Meanwhile, local institutions turned net sellers last week at RM3.9 million.
“It was a mixed trading week for local institutions with inflows seen on Monday at RM39.2 million and Wednesday at RM29.6 million, while the rest of the week saw outflows.
“The highest outflow was recorded on Friday at RM37.3 million,” it said, adding that year-to-date, local institutions had net bought RM1.77 billion worth of equities.
MIDF noted that local retailers also turned net sellers last week after they net sold RM7.6 million worth of equities.
The week started off strong with inflows recorded on Monday at RM41 million and Tuesday at RM12.8 million, while the rest of the week saw outflows by retailers.
The highest outflow was posted on Wednesday at RM34.6 million.
Local retailers had been net buyers thus far at RM91.9 million.
MIDF said that in terms of participation, there was a decline in the average daily trading volume (ADTV) among local retailers by 12.5 per cent, local institutions by 13.9 per cent, and foreign investors by 12.3 per cent.
