PETALING JAYA: Bursa Malaysia started the new year on a positive note, with international investors snapping up RM28.6 million net of local equities during the holiday-shortened week compared to RM69.9 million bought in the week before.
“It was a good start of the week for Bursa as foreign funds snapped up RM42.9 million of local equities on Monday. The local stock barometer even rose 0.3% higher to close at 1,615.7 points on the same day, a level not seen in nearly five months,” MIDF Research said in its weekly fund flow report.
The last trading day of 2019 then saw an exodus of foreign funds amounting to RM196.2 million, dragging the local bourse by 1.7% to settle below the 1,600 mark at 1,588.8 points despite Trump agreeing to sign a trade deal on 15 January 2019.
After markets opened on Thursday following the New Year break, international funds made a decent return to Bursa, acquiring RM14.9 million of local equities.
“Offshore investors may have taken cue of Malaysia’s manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) which edged up to 50 in December 2019, the first expansion since September 2018.
“International funds later upped the ante in buying activity to purchase RM167 millin net of local equities on Friday, the largest daily foreign net inflow in more than two months,” the report stated.
The local bourse followed suit to gain 0.6% higher to close at 1,611.4 points on the same day.
In 2019, foreign investors sold RM11.14 billion of local equities from Malaysia, lower compared to RM11.69 billion seen in the previous year.
“While the total foreign net outflow from Malaysia was little changed in 2019 and remained the largest amongst the Asean markets we monitor, this was no match for the massive foreign net selling of RM19.49 billion seen in 2015,” it said.
In terms of participation during the holiday-shortened week, foreign investors experienced largest gain in average daily traded value (ADTV) among the other investor groups, increasing 59.6% but still below the RM1 billion mark.
