Net foreign buying enters 14th consecutive week

PETALING JAYA: Foreign investors continued their buying spree in the local stock exchange for the 14th consecutive week with RM576.6 million purchased last week, excluding off market transactions, said MIDF Research.

“Daily net buying of local equities by foreigners has undeniably become a new normal on Bursa. It had not been proven otherwise last week,” it said in its fund flow report yesterday.

It said that foreign investors maintained their faith in local equity last week, with the amount purchased almost identical to the week before.

MIDF Research noted that Bursa benefited from the sizeable flow to Southeast Asian emerging markets last week, especially to Jakarta.

“For the third straight week, trading on Bursa was constricted to four days. Foreign buying was the highest on Thursday as global markets were buoyed by higher crude oil prices. The strong foreign buying momentum coincided with the rise in the KLCI by 8.83 points the same day,” it said.

It said that foreign participation remained high on Bursa, although it was slightly affected by market closure on Wednesday. Foreign average daily trade value declined by 2% to RM994.9 million, which is still a “healthy” level.

Meanwhile, retailers were marginal net sellers last week but the overall retail market remained vibrant.