FOREIGN investors returned to net selling after the previous week’s modest stock accumulation of RM11.1 mil with net outflow of -RM437.3 mil during the Aug 3-7 trading period.
They were net buyers on one out of five trading days during the week with the only inflow recorded on Wednesday (Aug 5) at RM53.7 mil, according to MBSB Research (formerly MIDF Research).
“Beyond that, outflows occurred on Friday (Aug 7) (-RM238.0 mil), followed by Thursday (Aug 6) (-RM175.3 mil), Monday (Aug 3) (-RM57.9 mil) and Tuesday (Aug 4) (-RM19.8 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 (RM97.6 mil), construction (RM48.1 mil) and property (RM5.8 mil).
The three largest sectors with net outflows were financial services (-RM173.5 mil), industrial products & services (-RM115.2 mil) and plantation (-RM92.2 mil).
On the contrary, local institutions extended their net buying to a second successive week with an inflow of RM451.1 mil.
However, retailers extended their net selling to a second straight week with an outflow of -RM13.8 mil.
The average daily trading volume (ADTV) saw a broad-based increase; retailers as up by +35.4% and local institutions by +24.1% although that of foreign institutions was down by -5.2%.
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MBSB Research, Vietnam ended a 20-week streak of net selling by foreign investors with an inflow of US$85.6 mil.
This came amid Vietnam’s industrial production having accelerated by +14.5% year-on-year (yoy) in July 2026 – the strongest growth in six months – driven by robust manufacturing and processing activities alongside continued strength in water supply and waste management.
In Indonesia, foreign investors extended their buying streak to a second week with US$39.2 mill in inflows.
This came as Indonesia’s exports rebounded by +8.8% yoy to US$25.5 bil in June 2026 to mark a six-month high, driven by stronger non-oil and gas exports, particularly mineral fuels, animal and vegetable oils, iron and steel and electrical machinery.
However, Thailand, saw foreign investors ending their five-week streak of net buying with outflow of -US$270.7 mil while the Philippines reverted to net selling after the previous week’s buying with an outflow of -US$15.0 mil.
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were Westports Holdings Bhd (RM96.7 mil), Public Bank Bhd (RM54.7 mil) and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (RM52.5 mil). – Aug 3, 2026
