FOREIGN investors continued to be net sellers of domestic equities for a fourth straight week with an elevated outflows of -RM904.0 mil for the Dec 29- Jan 2 trading period or -65% wider than the previous week’s -RM549.3 mil.
This was despite a shortened trading week with Bursa Malaysia closed on Thursday (Jan 1) in observance of the New Year holiday, according to MBSB Research (formerly MIDF Research).
“They were net sellers on every trading day with the largest outflow recorded on Wednesday (Dec 31) (-RM270.0 mil), followed by Tuesday (Dec 30) (-RM261.7 mil), Friday (Jan 2) (-RM232.4 mil) and Monday (Dec 29) (-RM140.0 mil),” observed the research house in its weekly fund flow report.
The top three sectors that recorded net foreign inflows were telecommunication & media (RM16.6 mil), industrial products & services (RM14.8 mil) and technology (RM8.1 mil).
Meanwhile, the top three sectors with the highest net foreign outflows were financial services (-RM482.8 mil), utilities (-RM258.2 mil) and plantation (-RM75.9 mil).
On the contrary, local institutions recorded net buying for the seventh consecutive week with net inflows amounting to RM924.1 mil last week.
However, local retailers were net sellers for the fifth consecutive week with a net outflow of -RM20.0 mil last week.
The average daily trading volume (ADTV) saw a broad-based increase: local retailers by +3.6%, local institutions (+18.1%) and foreign investors (+1.5%).
In comparison with another four Southeast Asian markets tracked by MBSB Research, Indonesia posted its 13th straight week of foreign inflows with net purchases totalling US$124.4 mil last week despite its markets being closed from Wednesday (Dec 31) to Thursday (Jan 1) for the New Year holiday.
This was followed by Vietnam which posted a second successive week of net foreign inflows totalling US$61.8 mil and the Philippines with a marginal net foreign inflow of US$4.4 mil to snap five consecutive weeks of outflows.
However, foreign investors turned net sellers in Thailand by recording outflows of -US$20.8 mil after two consecutive weeks of inflows.
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow from foreign investors last week were Inari Amertron Bhd (RM26.5 mil); CelcomDigi Bhd (RM20.6 mil) and Farm Fresh Bhd (RM17.7 mil). – Jan 5, 2026
