Bursa bucked regional trend with marginal inflow last week

PETALING JAYA: Offshore investors made a slow comeback to Bursa last week, with international funds snapping up only RM2.6 million net of local equities, the smallest weekly foreign net inflow so far this year.
However, Malaysia bucked the trend on the regional front, being the only country to attract inflows during the three-day trading week last week, among the four Asean markets monitored by MIDF Research.
“Foreign funds heavily withdrew from Bursa on Wednesday at RM349.8 million net as markets reopened after the long weekend, dragging the local bourse to 1,785 points, the lowest close in 18 trading days.
“We note that Wednesday’s selloff was in conformity with other peers as investors were jittered by China seeking permission from the World Trade Organisation to impose trade sanctions on the US,” it said in its fund flow report today.
The five-day selling streak on Bursa was snapped on Thursday as offshore funds bought RM174.4 million net of local equities, the highest in 22 trading days amidst Washington’s plans to reignite trade negotiations with China.
Foreign net buying then inched higher to RM177.7 million net on Friday as investors tracked gains from Wall Street’s tech rally overnight, which pushed the S&P500 index to its fourth consecutive day of gains amidst the release of Apple’s new products.
MIDF Research noted that the ringgit also appreciated by 0.15% to its strongest level since Sept 3, which led to its first weekly gain in 12 weeks.
As of last Friday, the year-to-date outflow from Bursa stood at RM9.25 billion, offsetting slightly more than 90% of the total foreign net inflow seen in 2017.
“Notwithstanding this, Malaysia still retains its position as the nation with the second lowest foreign outflow among the four Asean markets we monitor,” it said.
Despite the short week, the weekly average daily traded value (ADTV) among retail investors, local institutions and foreign investors increased, with the ADTV of foreign investors rising the most during the week by 41.6% to RM1.6 billion, marking its 10th consecutive week of being above RM1 billion.