KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 9): Foreign selling of local equities on Bursa Malaysia came to a halt last week as offshore investors bought RM115.14 million, compared with offloading of RM190.04 milion the prior week, according to MIDF Research.

In its weekly fund flow report today, MIDF said this was the first net inflow after seven weeks of consecutive net selling by foreign investors.

“This potentially marked a shift in sentiment post an expansionary budget that strives to rejuvenate the Malaysian economy.

“As the market reopened on Monday last week, foreign investors sold RM104.42 million net of local equities, with retailers and local institutions as net buyers at RM1.39 million and RM103.03 million respectively,” it said.

However, MIDF said this outflow was reversed as the week drew to a close, with net buying gaining momentum.

It said the outcome of the US presidential and Senate elections played a role influencing investors’ decisions.

MIDF said the largest inflow occurred last Friday at RM240.43 million, adding that the other net inflow took place last Thursday at RM140.90 million.

“So far in 2020, foreign investors' net selling has reached RM22.88 billion worth of equities on Bursa.

“In comparison to another three Southeast Asian markets that we tracked last week, Indonesia recorded the most foreign net inflow, while Thailand experienced the biggest outflow compared to the others,” it said.

MIDF said in terms of retail participation, last week saw retailers as net buyers with RM26.7 million worth of equities, while local institutions net sold RM141.8 million during the same period.

It said retailers as net buyers on Bursa continued their streak into the fourth week since early November albeit it was moderate tapering as cautionary sentiment clouded the momentum in anticipation of the Budget 2021 announcement last Friday.

“We may expect retailers' buying momentum to continue next week, signalling positive affirmation of Malaysian fiscal directions for 2021,” it said.

Thus far in 2020, MIDF said, net buying amounting to RM11.69 billion came from retailers, while institution bought to the tune of RM10.82 billion.

“In terms of participation, retail investors recorded a weekly decrease of 1.49% in average daily trading value (ADTV), while foreign investors experienced a decrease in ADTV of 11.25% and local institutions -16.99%,” it said.