Foreign buying dips below RM100m mark

PETALING JAYA: Foreign investors bought RM76.3 million net of Malaysian equities last week, marking the first time the weekly inflow fell below the RM100 million level this year, said MIDF Research.

In its fund flow report yesterday, it said the RM76.3 million net purchased makes up a quarter of the inflow in the week before, based on preliminary data by Bursa in the open market and excluded offmarket deals.

The amount is also the lowest recorded for the year so far. However, it noted that international investors continued to pump liquidity into stocks listed on Bursa Malaysia although it was a challenging week for emerging markets due to the build-up of political uncertainty in the US.

“Net foreign purchases were recorded in three out of five trading days. Net buying intensity was generally low and did not exceed RM150 million. We note that foreign buying peaked on Monday at RM110 million net amid bolstering optimism in Asia coming from China’s positive gross domestic product data,” it said.

Despite the tapering of foreign purchases last week, the cumulative year-to-date inflow remained above the RM10 billion mark at RM10.35 billion (about US$2.35 billion), the highest among Southeast Asian markets.

Foreign participation rate was rather sluggish, as the average daily trade value (ADTV) fell by 17% for the week, from RM893 million to RM739 million, below RM1 billion for the third week.

After four lacklustre weeks, retail participation rate inched higher to a moderate level, as ADTV increased by 17%, above the RM700 million level to RM778.4 million from RM665.4 million.