AFTER having posted an eight-year high net inflow of RM1.5 bil for the week of Aug 26-30, foreign investors continued to mop up stocks on Bursa Malaysia for the four straight week which culminated in net purchases of RM798.3 mil last week (Sept 2-6).
Net buying occurred during every trading session last week with the largest inflow occurred on Wednesday (Sept 4) totalling RM286.0 mil just before Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) decided to maintain the benchmark interest rate as expected, according to MIDF Research.
“The decision which followed a two-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the OPR (overnight policy rate) at 3.0%, citing on-going economic growth and stable inflation,” the research house pointed out in its weekly fund flow report.
The top three sectors that recorded the highest net foreign inflows were financial services (RM743.2 mil), utilities (RM405.1 mil) and healthcare (RM113.6 mil) while the top three sectors with the highest net foreign outflows were consumer products & services (-RM193.8 mil), industrial products & services (-RM116.0 mil) and technology (-RM68.4 mil).
On the contrary, local institutions net sold for the fourth consecutive week totalling -RM960.5 mil while local retailers emerged net buyers with purchases of RM162.2 mil.
The average daily trading volume (ADTV) showed declines among local retailers (-14.6%), local institutions (-18.3%), and foreign investors (-35.8%).
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MIDF Research, Thailand experienced its largest weekly net foreign inflow since December 2022 whch amounted to US$460.8 mil while Indonesia marked its 11th consecutive week of net foreign inflows totalling US$211.1 mil.
Elsewhere, the Philippines recorded its fourth straight week of net foreign inflows amounting to US$22.2 mil but Vietnam saw a third week in a row of net foreign outflows at -US$49.3 mil.
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were Tenaga Nasional Bhd (RM387.9 mil), Public Bank Bhd (RM257.5 mil) and Malayan Banking Bhd (RM154.9 mil). – Sept 9, 2024
