PETALING JAYA: The momentum at which offshore investors reduced their exposure in Bursa Malaysia slowed down slightly last week as international investors sold RM714.7 million net of local equities compared to RM843.2 million disposed in the week before.
“In comparison to its other six Asian peers that we monitor, Malaysia remains as the nation with the third smallest foreign net outflow on a year-to-date basis after Indonesia and the Philippines. Foreign investors have so far taken out RM12.6 billion net of local equities from Malaysia,“ MIDF Research said today in its weekly fund flow report.
It said Bursa Malaysia began the previous week with a foreign net outflow of RM122.3 million last Monday. Meanwhile, trading volume on Bursa reached another record high of 11.2 billion shares on the same day supported by trading in oil and gas and infrastructure-related stocks on the back of strong energy prices and the prospects of a restart of mega-projects.
The level of foreign net selling declined slightly to RM93.8 million on Tuesday sparked by positive Covid-19 vaccine trial results by drugmaker Moderna.
The 10-day foreign net selling spree was snapped on Wednesday as foreign funds snapped up RM700,000 net of local equities. The entrance of offshore investors into Bursa was driven by the prospects for an additional government stimulus from Beijing.
Nevertheless, the foreign net inflow was shortlived as foreign investors were back in selling mode at a tune of RM178.9 million on Thursday. Risk-off sentiment prevailed as the US Senate passed a bill that could bar Chinese companies from listing on American exchanges.
Foreign net selling surged to RM320.3 million, the highest during the week as investors anticipated an escalation of US-China tensions after Beijing effectively proposed that China security laws be applied inside Hong Kong.
“In terms of participation, only foreign investors saw a weekly drop in their average daily traded value (ADTV). Foreign investors recorded a weekly decline in ADTV of 0.4% to remain above the healthy RM1 billion mark,“ said MIDF.
