Another year of net foreign outflow

O Year-to-date selling stood at RM10.99b compared with RM11.69b last year

PETALING JAYA: 2019 is set to be another year of foreign net outflow for Malaysia with the year-to-date foreign net selling of RM10.99 billion compared with last year’s RM11.69 billion, according to MIDF Research.

The month of December has so far seen a foreign net outflow of RM1.06 billion.

International investors acquired RM69.9 million net of local equities last week, slightly higher than the RM68.7 million in the week before.

“Offshore investors continued to enter Malaysia for the second week.

In 2019, international funds were net buyers for a total of 18 weeks,” MIDF said in its fund flow report yesterday.

It said Bursa began the week on the right foot as international funds mopped up RM74.7 million net of local equities last Monday.

As such, the local stock barometer was lifted higher by 0.3% to close at 1,614.2 points, a level not observed since August 2019.

The eve of Christmas saw foreign investors retreating to the sidelines as they disposed of local equities at a tune of RM19.6 million net, dragging the local bourse by 0.6% to settle at 1,604.2 points.

As markets reopened on Thursday, international funds continued to reduce exposure in local equities but at a very slow pace of only RM1.8 million net.

The reduction in foreign net selling was mainly attributable to the news that the US and China will have a signing ceremony to commemorate the first phase of the US-China trade deal agreed this month.

International funds later turned net buyers on Friday, snapping up RM16.6 million net of local equities following the rally in local plantation stocks in line with the rise in crude palm oil prices.

In terms of participation during the festive week, MIDF said it was no surprise that foreign investors experienced sharpest decline in average daily traded value amongst the other investor groups, dropping 61.4% to reach below the RM1 billion mark at RM489.5 million.