The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia recorded net foreign inflow in four of the past five trading days to end the week on a positive net tally of RM152.9mil.
Foreign interest in Malaysian equities was spurred on from midweek, during and after the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which decided to raise the US interest rate by 75 basis points in line with market expectation.
"Global markets rode on the positive momentum for the second week on the back of better than expected second quarter corporate earnings in the United States and expectations of slower pace of rate hikes, which overtook inflationary concerns, the US Federal Reserve’s 75bps hike and the unexpected US gross domestic product (GDP) contraction in the second quarter," said MIDF Research in a its weekly fund flow report.
According to the research firm, foreign investors bought a net total of RM50.5mil on the Malaysian market on Thursday, following the US FOMC meeting.
It reported that the three sectors that most benefited from the foreign inflow over the week were financial services, utilities and consumers products and services.
On the flip side, the top three sectors with the most net foreign outflows were industrial products and services, technology and plantations.
At the close of July, foreign funds had posted a monthly net inflow of RM182.2mil, a reversal from the net outflow seen in June.
Meanwhile, local institutions remained net sellers for the third consecutive week with RM70.7mil net sold.
Local retailers were net sellers for everyday of the week for a week-ending net outflow of RM82.3mil.
In terms of participation, there was an increase in average daily trade value (ADTV) among retail and institutional investors by 10.98% and 17.17% respectively.
There was a decline in ADTV among foreign investors by 8.81%.
