KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): Foreign selling of Malaysian equities on Bursa Malaysia narrrowed to RM28.6 million last week, the lowest this year, compared to RM92.1 million the prior week, according to MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd Research.

In his weekly fund flow report today, the MIDF Research’s Adam M Rahim said in the past five weeks, the average level of foreign selling was RM65.8 million.

“Foreign investors sold Malaysian equity on three out of the five trading days.
 
“It was no surprise that Monday experienced a net foreign buying of RM133.4 million, the highest since Sept 12, amid the feel-good vibe from the Budget 2018 announcement.
 
“This even coincided with the FBM KLCI hitting a seven-day trading high of 1,748 points,” Adam said.
 
However, Adam said the positive mood was shortlived, as Thursday recorded the highest selloff during the week which amounted to RM72.3 million net.
 
He said the resumption of foreign selling saw the local bourse gradually slipping to end at 1,741 points on Friday, despite a rally in regional peers, notably the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as on improving oil prices.
 
Adam said October is the third month of foreign selling this year, as international investors sold off RM226.3 million net.
 
As a consequence, the cumulative year-to-date number has been dragged down to RM9.28 billion as of last week, far below the RM10 billion mark, the research house said.

Nonetheless, Adam said the cumulative year-to-date inflow still offsets approximately 31.6% of the total net outflows from 2014 to 2016.
 
“Foreign participation continued to slip further, as the foreign average daily trade value (ADTV) declined by 9% to settle at RM861 million.
 
“Meanwhile, the retail market rebounded as retailers were net buyers to the tune of RM95.6 million, with the retail ADTV surging by 18% to surpass the RM1 billion level at RM1.12 billion,” he added.