KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Thailand are the only Asian markets monitored by MBSB Investment Bank Bhd to receive net foreign inflows last week, recording RM587.6 million and US$58.9 million respectively, while other regional markets experienced net selling of equities.
The investment bank said net selling activities were broad-based again with foreign investors extending a six-week streak of net selling across eight Asian markets involving net foreign outflows of US$15.68 billion.
Outflows were led by South Korea, India, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, MBSB Investment Bank said in its Fund Flow Report for the week ended March 27, 2026.
"Thailand broke a three-week consecutive net selling streak, recording US$58.9 million in net foreign inflows. This came despite a widening external imbalance, with the trade balance swinging to a US$2.83 billion deficit in February 2026 (Feb 2025: +US$2.0 billion), missing expectations and marking a fifth consecutive shortfall,” the investment bank said.
It said Thailand's imports surged 31.8 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), driven by strong domestic demand and election-related fiscal stimulus, while export growth slowed sharply to 9.9 per cent y-o-y, reflecting softer external demand amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties.
In South Korea, foreign investors were net sellers for a sixth consecutive week, recording outflows of US$9.03 billion, the largest in the region, the report said.
"This was amid rising price pressures, with producer prices increasing 2.4 per cent y-o-y in February 2026 (January 2026: +1.8 per cent), marking the fastest rise since July 2024.
"The acceleration was broad-based across services, manufacturing, and agricultural products, while monthly prices rose 0.6 per cent month-on-month for a second straight month, pointing to sustained upstream inflationary pressures,” it added.
On Bursa Malaysia, foreign investors ended their second consecutive week of net selling, recording RM587.6 million in net foreign inflows.
"Foreign investors were net buyers on all four trading days during the week. The largest inflow was recorded on Wednesday (RM191.5 million), followed by Friday (RM176.2 million), Thursday (RM112.9 million), and Tuesday (RM107.0 million),” it said.
MBSB Investment Bank said the top three sectors that recorded net foreign inflows were plantation (RM385.9 million), financial services (RM295.6 million), and energy (RM139.1 million), while the top three sectors that recorded net foreign outflows were technology (RM123.1 million), consumer products and services (RM89.2 million), and construction (RM78.5 million).
Local institutions ended a two-week consecutive streak of net buying, recording RM582.9 million in net outflows, while local retailers extended to a second consecutive week of net selling, recording modest net outflows of RM4.7 million.
"The average daily trading volume saw a broad-based decline: local retailers by 0.4 per cent, local institutions increased by 1.1 per cent, and foreign investors saw a 14.7 per cent fall,” it added. - Bernama
