KUALA LUMPUR – Foreign selling of Malaysian equities narrowed to RM77.9 million net last week from RM173.3 million net in the preceding week.
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said this year up to April 9, international investors disposed of RM1.8 billion, or US$437 million, net of local equities on Bursa Malaysia.
“Notwithstanding this, Malaysia’s year-to-date foreign net outflow is small in comparison with its Asean peers such as the Philippines and Thailand, which have foreign net outflows of above US$900 million each,” he told Bernama.
He said Bursa had a bad start last week, with international investors selling RM41.6 million net of local equities on Monday.
“The sentiment on Monday was sluggish following a record increase in Covid-19 infections in India, which saw office employees having to work from home and malls being shut throughout April in the state of Mumbai.”
Foreign net selling activity gained momentum on Tuesday to reach RM94.6 million, despite the rebound in crude oil prices that enhanced the appeal of Malaysian assets, he said.
Nevertheless, said Adam, foreign funds made a bang on Wednesday, acquiring RM157.1 million net of local equities, mainly rubber glove stocks, thus boosting share prices of Top Glove Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd by at least 10%.
“Interest in glove counters was revived following the latest wave of Covid-19 outbreaks in Europe and India, which will drive stronger demand for rubber gloves.”
However, he said, the heavy foreign net inflow was short-lived, with foreign funds withdrawing RM43.5 million on Thursday as the spread of the coronavirus in Asia curbed risk appetite.
Friday saw a foreign net outflow of RM49.9 million as the overall sentiment appeared mixed, he said.
He said the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.6% on Friday, anchored by the rise in shares of telcos, namely Digi and Axiata, following news of a merger between the two giants.
“Investors were also digesting the unexpected rise in weekly United States jobless claims, which signalled an uneven recovery in the labour market.” – Bernama, April 12, 2021
