Foreign selling almost triples at RM422.2 mln
KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign investors continued to exit Bursa Malaysia with the amount of outflow almost tripled to RM422.2 million between Monday and Thursday from RM145.7 million in the same period a week earlier with issues on the US-China trade deal still dominating the market.
Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) index was traded mostly lower during the week in tandem with the performance of regional bourses.
“Issues surrounding the trade war remained at the centre stage. The Hong Kong Bill which already been signed by the US President suggests that the prospect for a swift trade resolution (between the US and China) could face a speed bump.
“This could undermine global growth should the trade discussion stalls. Therefore, investors would be watching closely whether the US will continue to press ahead with a tariff hike on Dec 15, 2019,” he said.
The US President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law last Wednesday aimed at backing the prodemocracy movement, with Beijing threatened “strong measures” over the move by Washington.
For the week just ended, Bursa Malaysia closed broadly lower on Monday and Tuesday amid lack of catalysts but ended higher on Wednesday, boosted by buying momentum in selected heavyweights on news that negotiations to conclude a trade deal between the US and China remained on track.
However, the local bourse fell again on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, Inter-Pacific
Issues surrounding the trade war remained at the centre stage. Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid
Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew said foreign investors were generally on buying mode for quite a long period from January 2017 up to May 2018 but began to offload local equities in a consistent mode since the country’s 14th General Election.
“I would infer from the timing that as the local political noise could also affect the local sentiment,” he noted.
According to Pong, the local bourse also saw a big sell down on Friday, with the FBM KLCI dipping 22.03 points or 1.40 per cent to finished at 1,561.74, mainly attributed to the monthend portfolio rebalancing by foreign funds which would drive significant selling activities in the market.
The rebalancing was occasionally done by the foreign fund at month-end, where they either sell or buy in big amount, but he does not expect it to follow through into the upcoming week.
Among the stock’s development for the week just ended, Pong highlighted the exclusion of Pentamaster Corp Bhd, one of the biggest technology stock on Bursa from the Securities Commission’s syariah-compliant list which had weighed on the sector’s sentiment.
Another big-cap company, the utility giant Tenaga Nasional Bhd which was slapped by the Inland Revenue with an additional tax bill of RM3.98 billion for the years of assessment from 2015 to 2017 had also contributed to the fall of the barometer index, he added.