FOREIGN investors returned as net buyer of Malaysian equities for the week ended March 5 with an inflow amounting to RM285.83 mil.
As the market reopened last Monday (March 1), foreign investors bought RM50.30 mil net of local equities with retailers mopping up +RM121.06 mil while local institutions selling to the tune of -RM171.36 mil.
“Except for Thursday last week, foreign investors were net buyers on a daily basis, echoing the positive sentiment emanating from (i) the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine programme in Malaysia, and (ii) lifting of the Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0) in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor with effect from March 5,” observed MIDF Research in its weekly fund flow report.
On a year-to-date basis, foreign net selling this year have come in lower when compared with the same period last year. Net selling by foreigner investors thus far stood at -RM1.42 bil from -RM3.30 bil during the same period in 2020.
Meanwhile, retail investors were net buyers every day of last week. The largest net buying was recorded on Monday (March 1) at RM121.06 mil while the smallest net purchase was on Tuesday (March 2) at RM22.45 mil.
On the contrary, local institutions were net sellers every day of the week except on Thursday (March 4).
Their cumulative weekly outflow was to the tune of -RM590.40 mil with the biggest net selling on Tuesday (March 2) at -RM262.62 mil while the smallest net selling was on Friday (March 5) at -RM83.34 mil.
Cumulatively, retailers are the only net buyers in the local bourse since the beginning of 2021 with purchases to the tune of RM4.05 bil while local institutions and foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of -RM2.64 bil and -RM1.42 bil respectively.
In terms of participation, retail investors, foreign investors and local institutions recorded a weekly decrease of -21.51%, -30.48% and -22.37% in average daily trade value (ADTV) respectively.
In comparison to another three Southeast Asian markets tracked by MIDF Research last week, Thailand posted the highest net inflow at US$216.1 mil followed by Malaysia (US$70.45 mil) while the Philippines and Indonesia recorded net outflow of -US$57.18 mil and -US$24.39 mil respectively.
The top three stocks with the highest net money inflow last week were My E.G.Services Bhd at RM3.6 mil followed by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (RM3.42 mil) and Hong Leong Bank Bhd (RM1.95 mil). – March 8, 2021
