FOREIGN investors remained net sellers on Bursa Malaysia for the second straight week at -RM113.5 mil in a shortened trading week last week due to the National Day public holiday on Thursday (Aug 31).
They net bought RM12.1 mil on Monday (Aug 28) and RM53.6 mil on Tuesday (Aug 29) before net selling -RM139.4 mil on Wednesday (Aug 30) and -RM39.8 mil on Friday (Sept 1), according to MIDF Research.
“The top three sectors that saw net foreign inflows were property (RM142.5 mil), construction (RM40.4 mil) and technology (RM30.0 mil),” the research house pointed out in its weekly fund flow report.
The bottom three sectors with net foreign outflows for the week were healthcare (-RM144.0 mil), industrial products & services (-RM82.2 mil) and consumer products & services (-RM60.5 mil). Year-to-date (YTD), foreigners have net sold -RM2.68 bil.
Meanwhile, local institutions maintained their net buying stance for the third consecutive week with a net buying amount of RM191.3 mil last week.
They only net sold -RM17.1m on Tuesday (Aug 29) but were net buyers on Monday (Aug 28) with RM40.0 mil, Wednesday (Aug 30) (RM103.5 mil) and Friday (Sept 1) (RM64.8 mil). YTD, local institutions have net bought RM3.23 bil of equities on Bursa Malaysia.
Meanwhile, local retail investors continued their net selling spree which has stretched into the eighth consecutive week. The net selling amount came up to -RM77.8 mil last week.
They only net bought RM35.9 mil on Wednesday (Aug 30) but were net sellers on Monday (Aug 28) (-RM52.1 mil), Tuesday (Aug 29) (-RM36.5 mil) and Friday (Sept 1) (-RM25.0 mil). YTD, local retailers have net sold -RM550.7 mil.
In terms of participation, there was a strong increase in average daily trading volume (ADTV) among foreign investors by +94.3% and among retail and institutional investors by +38.4% and +44.9% respectively.
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MIDF Research last week, all markets encountered net outflows with Thailand having the biggest at US$150.0 mil followed by Indonesia (US$105.4 mil), the Philippines (US$43.0 mil), Vietnam (US$38.6 mil) and Malaysia (US$24.5 mil).
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were YTL Power Bhd (RM69.3 mil), Malayan Banking Bhd (RM52.0 mil) and UMW Holdings Bhd (RM46.6 mil). – Sept 1, 2023
