Bursa Malaysia registers net foreign inflow of RM400.7mil

KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign investors were net buyers of Bursa Malaysia equities for a third straight week before the closing of the market for Chinese New Year with a net inflow of RM400.7mil.

The buying interest of foreigners in local equities was in line with the positive performance across Asian markets during the week as a rally in US markets improved investors' risk appetite.

MIDF Research said in its weekly fund flow report that the highest net forieign inflows were see in financial services (RM211.2mil), utilities (RM200.7mil) and technology (56.3mil).

The sectors with the most net foreign outflows were plantations (RM36.4mil), healthcare (RM27.5mil) and industrial products and services (RM15.4mil).

Meanwhile, local institutions were net sellers of domestic equities for a third consecutive week, amounting to RM276.6mil.

"The financial services sector (-218.7m) saw the highest net outflow by this investor group, with them disposing of stocks such as Maybank (-RM88.5m), CIMB Group (-RM54.5m), and Public Bank (-RM44.5m)," said MIDF.

Local retailers were net sellers of RM124.1mil of local equities.

In terms of participation, there were increases in average daily trading volume (ADTV) among local retailers (36.5%), local institutions (31.7%), and foreign investors (35.5%).