FOREIGN investors ended their two straight weeks of net selling with net inflows of RM587.6 mil for the Hari Raya-shortened March 24-27 trading period (prior week -RM168.3 mil).
They were net buyers on all four trading days during the week with the largest inflow recorded on Wednesday (March 25) (RM191.5 mil), according to MBSB Research (formerly MIDF Research).
“This was followed by Friday (March 27) (RM176.2 mil), Thursday (March 26) (RM112.9 mil) and Tuesday (March 24) (RM107.0 mil).” observed the research house in its weekly fund flow report.
The top three sectors that recorded net foreign inflows were plantation (RM385.9 mil), financial services (RM295.6 mil) and energy (RM139.1 mil).
Meanwhile, the top three sectors with net foreign outflows were technology (-RM123.1 mil), consumer products & services (-RM89.2m) and construction (-RM78.5 mil).
On the contrary, local institutions ended a two-week consecutive streak of net buying with -RM582.9 mil in net outflows.
Following suit were local retailers who extended their net selling activities to a second week with a modest outflow of -RM4.7 mil.
The average daily trading volume (ADTV) saw a broad-based decline: local retailers by -0.4% while local institutions increased by +1.1% and foreign investors saw a decrease of -14.7%.
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MBSB Research, Thailand broke a three-week consecutive net selling streak with US$58.9 mil in net foreign inflows.
This came despite a widening external imbalance with the trade balance swinging to a US$2.83 bil deficit in February 2026 (February-25: +US$2.0 bil), thus missing expectations and marking a fifth consecutive shortfall.
However, Indonesia reversed into net foreign outflows of -US$1.32 bil following the prior week of inflows with selling activity intensifying to around 14x the previous week’s outflows.
In Vietnam, foreign investors extended their net selling streak to two successive weeks with -US$113.2 mil in net foreign outflows amid rising energy-related pressures as escalating Middle East tensions disrupted global supply chains.
Likewise, the Philippines extended its net selling streak to a fourth week with -US$35.2 mil in net foreign outflows amid a cautious policy stance with its central bank having kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 4.25% in March 2026.
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were SD Guthrie Bhd (RM270.0 mil), CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (RM137.0 mil) and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (RM129.1 mil). – March 30, 2026
