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Malaysia is the only beneficiary of foreign inflow last week
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is the only beneficiary of foreign inflow among seven Asian exchanges last week, according to MIDF Research.
The research house said the foreign tide into Bursa continues for the third consecutive week, albeit at a slightly slower pace.
“Based on preliminary data from Bursa which excluded off market deals, the net amount acquired by foreign investors last week amounted to RM160.9mil net, lower than the RM190.9mil bought in the preceding week,” MIDF said.
Foreign investors were net buyers on Monday and Tuesday. The net infloow on Monday was marginal at only RM29.9mil but foreign buying later spiked to RM206.6mil net on Tuesday.
MIDF noted that the the heavy foreign buying was in tandem with the rally of banking stocks which pushed the FBM KLCI to settle at 1,871 points, the highest closing since 2014.
However, foreigners reduced their exposure in local stocks on Wednesday, disposing RM26.1mil net after Fed Chair Powell’s testimony revived fears on more rate hikes in 2018.
The spike in foreign selling on Tuesday was in conformity with other South East Asian peers namely Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The situation of global markets did not turn any better on Friday amid President Trump’s protectionism woes which compounded concerns over a more hawkish Fed and the timing of the ending for Japan’s monetary stimulus.
Hence, foreign investors continued to sell stocks on Bursa on Friday to a tune of US$25.3mil net.
“Nonetheless, we note that Malaysia is the only beneficiary of foreign inflow among the seven Asian exchanges we track last week,” MIDF said.
The month of February recorded an outflow of RM1.12bil net, the first monthly outflow since November 2017.
Meanwhile on a year-to-date basis, Malaysia has attracted RM2.21bil worth of foreign funds compared to RM1.57bil recorded in the same period last year.
The foreign average daily trade value (ADTV) stood above the RM1bil mark for the ninth straight week at RM1.51bil, resembling active foreign participation.
The retail market too remained vibrant with an weekly ADTV of RM1.18bil.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2018/03/05/malaysia-is-the-only-beneficiary-of-foreign-inflow-last-week/#bBHqz0xVLQljBmiw.99