KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Foreign investors acquired RM75.7 million net of local equities last week compared to RM193.8 million net sold in the preceding week, marking the seventh week of foreign net inflow into Malaysia’s equity market so far this year.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said Bursa Malaysia started the week on the right foot as foreign funds bought RM98.9 million net of local equities today.

In the same vein, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) index rebounded 0.5 per cent to close at 1,582.5 points today with gainers led by Hartalega which rose by 1.5 per cent.

"On a sectoral basis, the Bursa Malaysia Energy index was the biggest gainer as it closed 4.2 per cent higher during the day, supported by Brent crude oil price which touched US$73 per barrel.

"Moreover, investors also shrugged of inflationary concerns from the US and China, viewing it to be transitory and therefore may not lead to the removal of stimulus that soon,” he told Bernama.

On Tuesday, international investors sold RM41.0 million net of local equities on Tuesday ahead of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) announcement and amid the absence of other market catalysts.

Adam said the market saw higher foreign net outflows on Wednesday at RM131.7 million as investors digested the content of the NRP announced on Tuesday evening.

"Sentiment also tilted towards political developments in Malaysia following the Conference of Rulers special meeting held on June 16 with investors turning cautious ahead of the conference.

"Foreign net selling momentum gained further momentum to reach RM164.8 million on Thursday pending more clarity on the country’s political developments,” he shared.

However, he said offshore funds made a proverbial bang on Friday as they flocked into local equities to the tune of RM314.3 million net, resulting in the FBM KLCI’s index gain of 1.2 per cent, the biggest daily gain in more than a month.

"Optimism was supported by encouraging daily vaccination doses administered in Malaysia which remained above 200,000 doses per day from Tuesday to Thursday,” he said.

Adam noted on a month-to-date basis, foreign investors have so far disposed of RM314.1 million net of local equities for the month of June.

Meanwhile on a year-to-date basis, foreign investors have taken out RM3.3 billion net from Malaysia, he added.

Meanwhile, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd Research (MIDF Research) said most major equity markets worldwide saw negative performance last week, except a few Asian bourses including Malaysia.

It said in Asia, foreign investors turned net sellers last week after three consecutive weeks of net buying previously.

"All markets except Malaysia recorded net negative outflow last week. Based on the provisional aggregate data for the seven Asian exchanges that we track, net outflow from investors classified as ‘foreign’ was to the tune of about US$1.92 billion worth of equities.

"This was primarily driven by outflows from Taiwan and India,” it said.

In terms of participation, MIDF Research said since the beginning of 2021, cumulatively, retailers have been the only net buyers of the local equity market to the tune of RM7.32 billion, while local institutions and foreign investors were net sellers at RM3.97 billion and RM3.34 billion respectively.

It said for the week just ended, the retailers bought net RM227.45 million worth of equities in Bursa Malaysia, being net buyers every day except on Monday.

"Largest net buying by the retailers was recorded on Thursday at RM87.85 million and smallest net buying was on Tuesday,” it said.

Meanwhile, the local institutions cumulative weekly inflow was worth RM303.13 million with net buying occurred from Wednesday to Thursday.

"The biggest net selling done by local institutions was on Friday at RM327.90 million. Conversely, largest net buying was on Thursday to the tune of RM77.33 million,” it added. — Bernama