KUALA LUMPUR: Last week, foreign investors remained net buyers for a third consecutive week, recording RM510.9 million in net foreign inflows, according to MBSB Investment Bank Bhd.
MBSB said in its Fund Flow Report for the week ended Jan 23, 2026, that the week-on-week decline in inflows marked a moderation from the prior week’s RM716.1 million.
It stated that the inflow remained supportive of overall market liquidity, with foreign investors continuing to provide a positive net contribution despite mixed participation from domestic investors.
"Foreign investors were mostly net buyers during the week, with the largest inflow recorded on Wednesday (RM215.4 million), followed by Thursday (RM167.8 million), Friday (RM132.8 million), Monday (RM12.4 million), and net selling on Tuesday (-RM17.5 million),” it said.
MBSB said the top three sectors that recorded net foreign inflows were financial services at RM407.5 million, followed by industrial products and services (RM148.6 million), and consumer products and services (RM87.8 million).
"The top three sectors that recorded net foreign outflows were healthcare (-RM141.8 million), construction (-RM40.9 million), and utilities (-RM19.5 million),” it said.
Meanwhile, MBSB said local institutions returned to net buying, recording RM853.0 million in net inflows, reversing the previous week’s net selling of RM588.2 million.
"Local retailers were net sellers for the eighth consecutive week, with a net outflow of RM1.36 million last week,” it said.
The average daily trading volume (ADTV) saw a broad-based increase: local retailers by 18.4 per cent, local institutions by 0.3 per cent, while foreign investors saw a decline of 12.2 per cent.
Regionally, foreign investors across eight Asian markets saw net foreign selling intensify for a second consecutive week, with total net outflows widening to US$2.76 billion (US$1 = RM3.99) in the week under review, from US$954.6 million in the week ended Jan 16, 2026.
This aggregate decline was primarily driven by a massive acceleration in selling from India, which overwhelmed consistent buying across most of the ASEAN region.
"Excluding India and Vietnam, all other tracked markets recorded net foreign inflows during the period,” MBSB added. - Reuters
