Foreign funds bought RM143.4m in local equities last week after brief hiatus — MIDF

Foreign funds bought RM143.4m in local equities last week after brief hiatus — MIDF

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): Foreign investors became net buyers of domestic equities at RM143.4 million last week, from a net outflow of RM276.4 million the prior week.

In its weekly fund flow on Monday, the MIDF Research team said net foreign inflows into Bursa Malaysia began on Thursday following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain interest rates.

“They net bought RM125.3 million on Thursday and RM190.2 million on Friday, overturning their net selling amount of RM172.0 million from Monday to Wednesday.

“The top three sectors with net foreign inflows last week were Utilities (RM91.2 million), Healthcare (RM65.9 million) and Technology (RM33.5 million),” it said.

Meanwhile, MIDF said the top three sectors with net foreign outflows were Financial Services (RM66.8 million), Industrial Products & Services (RM21.2 million) and Energy (RM19.2 million).

“Local institutions continued as net buyers for the second consecutive week, with a reduced pace at RM82.0 million, compared to the previous week’s RM194.0 million.

“They were net buying sectors such as Plantation (RM58.6 million), Healthcare (RM55.1 million) and Financial Services (RM51.0 million),” it said.

MIDF said local retailers shifted to net sellers of domestic equities, amounting to RM225.5 million, following two weeks of net buying.

It said in terms of participation, there were increases in average daily trading volume (ADTV) across the board — local retailers (22.7%), local institutions (31.9%) and foreign investors (62.8%).

Commenting on the global scenario, MIDF said most markets experienced a rally following the expected decision by the US Fed to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday.

It said chair Jerome Powell mentioned that the historic tightening of monetary policy was likely over, and discussions on potential cuts in borrowing costs were on the horizon.

MIDF said stronger-than-expected Nov 23 retail sales data, coupled with recent milder inflation readings, fuelled hopes that the US Fed could achieve a soft landing.

“Among the 20 monitored indices, 17 recorded gains for the week.

“The top performers were the Philippines PSEi (3.91%), Australia’s ASX 200 (3.44%), and Dow Jones (2.92%). Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh VSE (1.97%), China’s Shenzhen CSI 300 (1.70%), and Germany’s DAX 40 (0.05%) were the only decliners.

“The FBM KLCI added 1.42% to end at 1,462.45,” it said.