Foreign trading on Bursa surges in run-up to Chinese New Year

PETALING JAYA: The days leading up to the Chinese New Year saw foreign trading on Bursa Malaysia exceeding RM1 billion in a day for the first time this year.
MIDF Research said while trading value exceeded the billion-ringgit mark on Jan 24, the second heaviest buying volume was recorded on Thursday, as net purchases surged to RM173 million, coinciding with buying activities taking place in Korea and Thailand.
“Based on preliminary data from Bursa, the net amount of equity bought by foreigners during the four and half days of trading last week amounted to RM110.3 million, offsetting a significant portion of the -RM143.0 million outflow recorded the week prior,” the research firm said.
However, the momentum slowed down as the week approached its end despite the foreign participation rate holding up well, with average daily trade value (ADTV) declining by only -2.3%, which the report said is commendable as Bursa was open for trading only in the first session on Friday.
Meanwhile, last week also saw the highest weekly attrition since September 2016, with retailers yanking out RM142.5 million net. Participation rate, based on the ADTV fell 26% to RM412 million.
The foreign buy volume was at RM1,789.4 million for the week ending Jan 27, while the sell volume amounted to RM1,679.1 million.
Although there was a spike in foreign buying in Southeast Asia on Thursday, investor sentiment on the regional emerging markets remained cautious and tempered with a wait-and-see approach, due to current global economic and political climate dominated by the policies of US President Donald Trump.