Pace of foreign buying on Bursa eases

PETALING JAYA: Foreign investors bought RM273.7 million net last week, compared to RM362.6 million the week before, based on preliminary data from Bursa Malaysia which excluded off-market trades.
“On Bursa, foreign investors remained in the buying mode for the third week running. However, the intensity eased last week, in tandem with lethargy in Asia,” MIDF Research said in its fund flow report yesterday.
It said global funds were net buyers during the rest of the week except on Wednesday but the one-day attrition was minimal, at only RM7.90 million net.
“Meanwhile, foreign investors snatched RM172.6 million net on Tuesday, the highest inflow in a day since June 14. The heavy foreign buying coincided with the FBM KLCI’s 62-day high of 1,789 points ahead of our prime minister’s meeting the US President Donald Trump.”
It added that the advance in the FBM KLCI was spurred from the positive spillover effect from Wall Street, which saw S&P500 reaching a new record level overnight amid the weakening effect of Hurricane Irma. The weekly inflow was in conformity with those seen by Southeast Asian peers notably, Thailand and the Philippines.
With 29 weeks of foreign buying recorded so far this year, the cumulative year-to-date net inflow has reached RM10.99 billion, off setting 37% of net outflows in the past three years.
Foreign participation took a breather last week. Gross trade on Wednesday decreased to just above 700 million, dragging the foreign average daily trade value (ADTV) 20% lower to fall below the RM1 billion mark to RM891 million.
In contrast, retail participation remained healthy for the week. The retail ADTV increased by 6% to hit RM939 million. The last time the retail ADTV went above RM900 million, was during the week ended May 26.