AMID heightened geopolitical concerns, foreign investors reverted to net selling on Bursa Malaysia after the previous week’s +RM411.4 mil in net buying with outflows valued at -RM725.6 mil.
They were net sellers on five out of five trading days during the week, according to MBSB Research (formerly MIDF Research).
“The largest outflow was recorded on Friday (March 13) (-RM315.8 mil), followed by Monday (March 9) (-RM168.5 mil),” observed the research house in its weekly fund flow report.
“A similar trend persisted on Thursday (March 12) (-RM138.2 mil), Tuesday (March 10) (-RM100.5 mil) and Wednesday (March 11) (-RM2.6 mil).”
The top three sectors that recorded net foreign inflows were plantation (RM118.6 mil), transportation & logistics (RM95.8 mil) and REITs (RM46.0 mil).
Meanwhile, the top three sectors with net foreign outflows were financial services (-RM488.0 mil), telecommunication & media (-RM147.2 mil) and property (-RM121.4 mil).
On the contrary, local institutions attained net inflow of RM621.1 mil to end five consecutive weeks of net selling.
Local retailers, too, bucked the uncertain global trend by posting net inflows of RM104.5 mil after the previous week’s -RM3.1 mil in net outflows.
The average daily trading volume (ADTV) saw a broad-based incline: local retailers by +3.4%, local institutions by +1.0% while foreign investors saw an increase of +7.4%.
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MBSB Research, Vietnam ended a two-week streak of net selling with US$46.4 mil in net foreign inflows.
This came about as its authorities swiftly move to shield the economy from global oil price volatility with deployment of mixed fiscal, regulatory and supply-side measures to stabilise domestic fuel prices.
However, Thailand extended its net selling streak to a second successive week with -US$628.7 mil in net foreign outflows after the Bank of Thailand signalled that economic growth is likely to remain uneven and below potential.
Likewise, the Philippines extended its streak of net selling by foreign funds to a second week with outflows amounting to -US$108.0 mil while Indonesia succumbed to a third straight week of net selling with net foreign outflows of -US$93.7 mil.
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were SD Guthrie Bhd (RM103.1 mil), MISC Bhd (RM94.6 mil) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (RM78.2 mil). – March 16, 2026
