FOREIGN investors have returned to Bursa Malaysia after purchasing RM10.2 mil worth of domestic equities last week, marking their comeback after two consecutive weeks of net selling.
It was a mixed trading week with foreign inflows observed only on Tuesday (Oct 10) and Thursday (Oct 12).
“Most of the inflows occurred on Thursday (Oct 12) with RM118.0 mil, a day before the Budget 2024 announcement,” MIDF Research pointed out in its weekly fund flow report.
“On that day, the utilities sector experienced the highest inflow at RM70.0 mil with foreigners showing interest in stocks such as Tenaga Nasional Bhd (RM24.6 mil), YTL Power Bhd (RM21.5 mil) and YTL Corp Bhd (RM17.1 mil).
Year-to-date (YTD), foreign investors have net sold -RM3.12 bil worth of stocks on Bursa Malaysia.
The top three sectors with net foreign inflows last week were utilities (RM221.5 mil), technology (RM62.0 mil) and industrial products & services (RM43.9 mil) while the top three sectors with net foreign outflows were consumer products & services (-RM130.4 mil), healthcare (-RM103.0 mil) and financial services (-RM60.0 mil).
Meanwhile, local institutions have continued to purchase domestic equities for the second consecutive week with a net buying amount of RM136.9 mil. This rate is significantly lower compared to the previous week’s RM1.05 bil. YTD, local institutions have net bought RM3.77 bil worth of equities.
However, local retailers shifted to becoming net sellers of domestic equities with a total of RM147.1 mil in net sales, marking a reversal from two consecutive weeks of net buying. YTD, retailers have recorded net sales amounting to -RM655.3 mil.
In terms of participation, there was a decrease in average daily trading volume (ADTV) across the board – retail investors by -1.6%, local institutions (-13.0%) and foreign investors (-4.6%).
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MIDF Research last week, Thailand posted highest net inflow of foreign funds with US$77.0 mil followed by Indonesia (US$17.3 mil) and Malaysia (US$2.2 mil) while Vietnam incurred the highest net outflow from foreign funds with -US$78.3 mil followed by the Philippines (-US$58.3 mil).
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (RM86.4 mil), YTL Corp Bhd (RM83.4 mil) and YTL Power International Bhd (RM67.9 mil). – Oct 9, 2023
