KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign investors were net buyers of Bursa Malaysia stocks for the fourth consecutive week, with a total of RM873.9 million, according to MIDF Research
"This has overturned the year-to-date foreign outflows, into a net inflow of RM4.9 million," it said in a note.
The research house said the sustained interest in the Malaysian domestic market may stem from economic optimism, as recent data revealed a 4.2 per cent year-on-year (yoy) rise in gross domestic products (GDP) for the first quarter of the 2024 period.
"This exceeded both the 3.9 per cent growth forecast by a Reuters poll and the advance estimates released by the government," it said.
According to MIDF Research, foreign funds were net buyers in Malaysia throughout last week, with the highest being on Wednesday with a net inflow of RM299.98 million.
It said this was the start of strong net buying by foreign funds, as subsequent days saw a net inflow of more than RM100 million every day (Thursday: RM269.2 million, Friday: RM184.3 million).
"The sectors with the highest net foreign inflows were transportation and logistics (RM223.6 million), utilities (RM189.1 million), and healthcare (RM183.3 million).
"Meanwhile, the only sectors with net foreign outflows were plantation (-RM64.7 million) and construction (-RM6.7 million)," it said.
On the local institutions, MIDF Research said they continued their net selling streak for the third week in a row, with a total of RM379.7 million.
For the tenth week in a row, it said local retailers persisted in divesting domestic equities, amounting to a total of RM494.1 million.
"In terms of participation, average daily trading volume (ADTV) increased for local retailers (27.1 per cent), local institutions (18.0 per cent), and foreign investors (8.5 per cent)," it added.