Foreign funds bought RM 458.2 m net last week

KUALA LUMPUR: Overseas funds mopped up RM458.2 million net of local equities last week, much higher than the RM348.9 million recorded the week before.

MIDF Research said foreign purchases of stocks listed on Bursa Malaysia had accelerated after marking the second consecutive week of inflows.

It said the week started off slow as foreign investors chipped in RM3.9 million net on Monday, the lowest daily inflow this year.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, foreign net buying surged to RM233.4 million and RM229.6 million, respectively, as the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI posted gains above 0.5 per cent on both days.

“Wednesday was rather a remarkable day as the local bourse closed above 1,800 points for the first time since late May.

“The upbeat mood on these two days were driven by the strong corporate earnings in the United States, especially within the financial sector, which lifted the S&P500 to the highest close since late January on Tuesday.”

MIDF Research said foreign net buying on Thursday declined to only RM18.2 million net as investors were more cautious, following China’s move to slap 25 per cent duties on an additional US$16 billion (RM65.44 billion) of US goods, effective August 23.

“With global investors making a comeback, the year-to-date outflow from Malaysia has been reduced from RM8.45 billion to RM8 billion as of last Friday.