Nevertheless, MIDF Research’s Adam M Rahim in a note said, in comparison to its other six Asian peers, Malaysia has the second least foreign net outflow on a year-to-date basis.
Last week’s foreign net selling had brought the year-to-date foreign net outflow from Malaysia to RM5.21 bil, he said.
“The week started with Bursa seeing RM459.9 mil of foreign net selling on Monday, triggered by the slump in oil price due to Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producers failing to agree on cutting output.
“The pace at which foreign investors were selling local equities decelerated to RM257 mil net on Tuesday. Bargain-hunting activity offered some relief to the local bourse which eked out a 0.4% gain on the same day but not enough to lift it beyond the 1,450 territory,” he added.
Adam said foreign net selling gained momentum on Wednesday to reach RM320.3 mil despite gains on Wall Street as hopes were buoyed that President Donald Trump will act to cushion the economy from pain inflicted by the fast-spreading coronavirus.
“The foreign net outflow continued to increase to RM375.4 mil after the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus a global pandemic on Thursday.
“Friday the 13th brought wild swings for Bursa as the local stock barometer faced its worst day since 2008, dropping 5.3% to settle at 1,344.8 points,” he said.
As such, international funds dumped equities listed on Bursa at the tune of RM482.7 mil net.
Adam said in terms of participation, the average daily traded value of foreign investors recorded the smallest gain of 13.1% for the week and remained at a healthy level of RM1.72 bil. – March 16, 2020, Bernama
