Foreign fund outflow from Bursa last week slowed to RM214.4 million

PETALING JAYA: Foreign fund outflow continued on Bursa Malaysia for the week ended Oct 23, albeit at a slower pace with a RM214.4 million selloff.

Cumulatively, October has seen an exodus of RM479.5 billion by international funds, according to a report by MIDF Research.

It related that Monday started off with foreign investors buying RM101.58 million net of local equities, while retailers and local institutions stood as net sellers and net buyers at RM210,000 and RM101.38 million respectively.

“However, this inflow was negated as the week went by, with net selling gaining momentum, with external markets influencing investors’ decisions. Negotiation of a further stimulus in the US continues without any agreement reached,” said the research house.

For the week, Bursa saw the largest outflow on Wednesday at -RM162.72 million and the smallest outflow on Friday at RM37.34 million.

MIDF Research highlighted that foreign fund exit on Bursa has reached -RM22.81 billion worth of equities.

In terms of retail participation, last week saw retailers turned net buyers with RM446.5 million worth of equities last week, while local institutions net sold -RM232.1 million during the same period.

The week also marks the reversal to net sellers by local institutions after four consecutive weeks as net buyers in Bursa.

“This was the second week where there was stronger net buying from retailers after three consecutive weeks as net sellers previously. This is a potential signal for the return of buying appetite for retailers with bargain hunting activities, renewed interest in glove stocks with the surge in Covid-19 cases against a volatile Malaysian political backdrop,” it said.

Thus far in 2020, retailers net buying amounted to RM11.6 billion, while institutions have bought to the tune of RM10.9 billion.

In terms of participation, the retail investors recorded a weekly increase of 16.58% in average daily trade value (ADTV) while the foreign investor experienced an ADTV increase 4.2% and local institution an ADTV of 6.98%.