Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 21): The last three trading days in the last week could be a turning point for Bursa, according to MIDF Research, as investors classified as “foreign” turned net buyers of equity listed in the open market on Bursa.

In his weekly fund flow today, MIDF Research head Zulkifli Hamzah said the amount mopped up was RM685 million on a net basis, still small compared with the RM17.1 billion yanked out from the market in the year until September 2015.

“However, it broke what had been among the longest stretches of sustained back-to-back weekly selldown on record.

“It was not an auspicious start to the week.

“With the Fed’s FOMC meeting looming, foreigners sold RM86 million on Monday, following the heavy outflow on the preceding Friday,” he said.

Zulkifli, however, said buying interest crept up on Tuesday before the market adjourned for a midweek Malaysia day break.

He said foreign investors returned with the proverbial vengeance on Thursday, on the eve of the announcement by the FOMC.

“Foreign funds bought a whopping RM482.4 million net on Thursday, the highest one-day foreign haul recorded by Bursa since the RM545 million surplus recorded on May 30, 2013.

“It was followed by a RM147 million purchase on Friday,” he said.

Zulkifli said that for 2015, last week’s load-up reduced the cumulative net foreign outflow to RM16.5 billion, significantly surpassing the RM6.9 billion outflow for the entire 2014.

He said the worst of the foreign money attrition is likely to be in the past as the foreign liquidity overhang in the equity market is low.

“Foreign participation rate surged last week. The average daily gross volume spiked to RM1.51 billion last week, the second highest this year. On Thursday, foreign participation hit RM2.13 billion, the third highest this year.

“Local institutions sold RM520.3 million on RM2.81 billion participation, the highest since August 2014. Meanwhile, retailers remained sceptical of the market, offloading a relatively heavy RM164.7 million on yet moderate participation,” he said.

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