KUALA LUMPUR (March 22): Foreign investors turned net sellers of Malaysian equities last week, breaking a two-week buying streak, as total inflows did not manage to reverse the selling momentum which resulted in outflows totalling RM101.07 million.

In its weekly fund flow report today, the MIDF Research team said foreign investors bought RM26.11 million net of local equities as the market opened last Monday, with retailers and local institutions as net buyers and net sellers to the tune of RM142.02 million and RM168.17 million respectively.

In fact, foreign investors were net buyers every day except last Tuesday and Friday. Nonetheless, total inflows did not manage to reverse the selling momentum last week, especially due to the net selling last Friday, it said.

“The announcement of initiatives under the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (PEMERKASA) worth RM20 billion, along with a new fiscal injection by the government amounting to RM11 billion last week, did provide some impetus to our equity market. However, this was mitigated by the impact of rising US bond yields and fears of rising inflation there,” said MIDF.

As for retailers, they were net buyers every day last week, with the largest net buying recorded last Monday at RM142.05 million and the smallest net purchase last Thursday at RM59.41 million.

Meanwhile, local institutions were net sellers every day of the week except last Friday. A mixed ending was recorded after a six-week pattern of net selling this year, MIDF noted.

The cumulative weekly outflow was to the tune of RM421.49 million, with the biggest net selling last Monday at RM168.17 million and the smallest net selling last Thursday at RM68.91 million.

In terms of participation, retail investors and local institutions recorded a weekly decrease of 12.19% and 21.09% respectively in average daily trading value (ADTV), while that of foreign investors increased by 5.13%.