Foreign pullout continues on Bursa

PETALING JAYA: Foreign investors continued to pull out from Malaysia last week albeit at a slower momentum, offloading net RM205.5 million worth of equities, according to MIDF Research.

This is the second highest out of the only five weeks that net sale had been recorded this year.

MIDF Research said the heaviest foreign selling during the week was recorded on Tuesday with net disposal reaching net RM139.2 million as geopolitical tensions heightened on the back of the intercontinental ballistic missile test by North Korea.

“We note that the markets in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines were also casualties of foreign attrition on Tuesday,” it added.

With the last week’s outflow of foreign funds, the research house said cumulative net inflow year to date has fallen to below the RM10 billion mark to RM9.96 billion. However, it still offsets about 30% of the total outflow between 2014 and 2016.

Meanwhile, foreign participation eased last week with the average daily trade value (ADTV) declining by 36% for the week, from RM1.24 billion to RM792.2 million.

“Indeed, foreign daily trade value during the week only ranged from RM710 million to RM820 million,” it said.

In contrast, MIDF Research said the retail market continued to slow down with its ADTV slightly unchanged at RM627.5 million, below the RM800 million level for the third consecutive week.