FOREIGN investors returned to net selling during the July 20-24 trading period after two consecutive weeks of net buying on Bursa Malaysia with net outflow of RM134.3 mil in contrast to the previous week’s inflow of RM612.3 mil.
They were net buyers on only one out of five trading days during the week with the only inflow recorded on Tuesday (July 21) at RM169.5 mil, according to MBSB Research (formerly MIDF Research).
“The outflows were highest on Friday (July 24) (-RM148.8 mil), followed by Wednesday (July 22) (-RM72.9 mil), Thursday (July 23) (-RM63.9 mil) and Monday (July 20) (-RM18.2 mil),” observed the research house in its weekly fund flow report.
The top three sectors that recorded net inflows from foreign institutions were transportation & logistics (RM154.4 mil), financial services (RM144.9 mil) and utilities (RM32.8 mil).
Meanwhile, the three largest sectors with net outflow were industrial products & services (RM204.8 mil), consumer products & services (-RM110.9 mil) and technology (-RM65.3 mil).
Likewise, local institutions extended their net selling streak to a third week with an outflow of -RM88.8 mil.
However, retailers returned to net buying after the previous week’s selling with inflow amounting to RM223.1 mil.
The average daily trading volume (ADTV) saw a broad-based decrease with retailers down by -12.1%, local institutions (-14.1%) and foreign institutions (-7.0%).
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MBSB Research, Thailand extended its net foreign buying streak to four consecutive weeks with overseas funds mopping up US$192.6 mil worth of equities.
This came as Thailand’s exports accelerated to +20.8% year-on-year (yoy) in June 2026 (May 2026: +10.6%), exceeding market expectations by +15.2% and marking the strongest growth in three months.
However, Indonesia returned to net foreign selling after the previous week’s inflow with a deficit of -US$188.0 mil despite Bank Indonesia unexpectedly keeping its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.75% in July 2026 to defy expectations of a 25 basis points (bps) hike.
Elsewhere, Vietnam extended its net foreign selling streak to 19 successive weeks with an outflow of -US$142.0 mil while the Philippines returned to net foreign selling after two consecutive weeks of buying with net outflow totalling -US$7.3 mil.
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were Public Bank Bhd (RM267.1 mil), Westports Holdings Bhd (RM148.9 mil) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (RM68.6 mil). – July 27, 2026
