KUALA LUMPUR: Offshore funds continued to return to Bursa Malaysia for the third consecutive week to the tune of RM455.1mil net of local equities, according to data compiled by MIDF research.
As at Jan 25, foreign net inflow to the local market in 2019 was RM879.5mil, coming in behind Indonesia and the Philippines but beating out Thailand.
"The participation rate of foreign investors was stronger last week, indicated by the average daily traded value(ADTV) which jumped by more than 30% for the week to reach RM1.3b, the highest in eight weeks," said the research house.
With last Monday being a public holiday due to Thaipusam, Bursa Malaysia opened on Tuesday and recorded net foreign buying of RM158mil, while the FBM KLCI pushed past the 1,700 points mark for the first time since late November 2018.
Foreign net inflows slowed to RM29.5mil on Wednesday amid concerns over the end-January trade talks as it was reported that Washington had cancelled a visit by Beijing delegates for preparatory talks.
The momentum returned on Thursday with foreign net buying reaching RM105.6mil on positive corporate results from the US.
There was a further pick up on Friday as foreign net inflows spiked to RM162.1mil on the overnight rally in US chipmakers and despite comments from the US Commerce Secretary pouring cold water on hopes for a speedy trade resolution.
The counter that saw the most foreign buying interest was CIMB Group
Holdings, which registered RM16.55mil in net money inflow last week.
This was followed by Tenaga Nasional, which recorded RM11.08mil in net foreign buying, and Public Bank, which saw net money inflow of RM9.73mil.
Malayan Banking experienced the highest net money outflow to the tune of RM15.84mil.
"Its stock price gained 1.15%, outperforming vis-à-vis the FBM KLCI which advanced 0.52% during the review week.
"It is notable that the net money outflow amidst advancing share price may indicate a sell on strength (SOS) stance among some investors," said MIDF.
Similarly, Fraser & Neave Holdings recorded net money outflow of RM13.97mil while its share price advanced 2.93%.
Genting Malaysia came third on the list with net foreign selling of RM11.98mil, which saw its share price drop 3.64%.
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