.JPG "An investor monitors the stock prices in the gallery of the RHB Investment Bank Bhd headquarters in Kuala Lumpur March 17, 2020. u00e2u20acu2022 Picture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Foreign net selling on Bursa Malaysia declined to RM631.9 million last week, marking the first time in five weeks that international funds had disposed local equities below the RM1.0 billion mark, said MIDF.
Compared to six other Asian peers that MIDF monitored, Malaysia had the third least foreign net outflow on a year-to-date (YTD) basis at RM7.63 billion.
“On Monday last week, Malaysia’s foreign net outflow was recorded at RM244.2 million, dragging the local bourse 3.3 per cent lower to 1,259.9 points.
“The market sentiment was dampened as discussions of a United States stimulus package faced hurdles from the US Senate Democrats,” it said in a note today.
Foreign net selling fell by more than half to RM116.5 million on Tuesday as risk appetite returned to Asia following the US Federal Reserve’s plan to buy unlimited amounts of Treasury bonds to keep borrowing costs low.
On Wednesday, foreign net selling fell even further to RM81.6 million following US President Donald Trump’s deal with the US Senate on a historic rescue package, which outweighed the extension of the movement control order by the Malaysian government.
However, it had inched higher to RM91.3 million on Thursday as Malaysian’s number of Covid-19 positive cases rose to 2,031 and rose to RM98.35 million on Friday as the US’ unemployment surged to a record 3.3 million, amplifying economic concerns from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nevertheless, the local bourse was up by 1.1 per cent to close at a two-week high of 1,343.1 points, as investors digested the latest RM250 billion stimulus package announced by the government,” said MIDF.
In terms of participation, MIDF said the average daily traded value of foreign investors dropped by 41.9 per cent to RM1.20 billion, which is still at a healthy level.
Meanwhile, it said Axiata Group Bhd registered the highest net money inflow at RM6.85 million last week as its share price rose 5.62 per cent.
This was followed by Public Bank Bhd with a net money inflow of RM2.74 million after its share price increased 13.25 per cent, and IOI Corporation Bhd with an inflow of RM2.47 million after its share price grew by 5.98 per cent during the week. — Bernama
