KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11): Foreign funds snapped a five-week net buying streak of Malaysian equities, with a net outflow of RM276.4 million.

In its weekly fund flow on Monday, MIDF Research said the peak net selling occurred last Thursday at RM95.4 million, followed by Monday at RM92.5 million, while the remaining days of the week saw outflows of less than RM40.0 million each.

“The top three sectors with net foreign inflows last week were utilities (RM118.5 million), property (RM19.1 million), and construction (RM9.4 million), while the top three sectors with net foreign outflows were consumer products and services (RM191.3 million), transport and logistics (RM62.3 million), and industrial products and services (RM48.4 million).

“In contrast, local institutions switched to net buyers at RM194.0 million after five consecutive weeks of net selling,” it said.

MIDF said every trading day recorded net buying except for Tuesday last week, when there was an outflow of RM21.4 million.

“On that day, local institutions were observed selling shares in CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (RM25.5 million), YTL Power International Bhd (RM16.7 million), and Public Bank Bhd (RM15.3 million).

“Local retailers sustained their net buying of domestic equities for the second consecutive week, totalling RM82.4 million.

“This represents a significantly moderated rate compared to the RM210.9 million net buying recorded in the previous week.

MIDF said that in terms of participation, there were declines in average daily trading volume across the board, including local retailers (15.3%), local institutions (16.4%), and foreign investors (49.9%).

Commenting on the global scenario, MIDF said out of the 20 indices it monitors, 14 registered gains for the week.

“The top three performers were India’s Sensex (3.47%), the CAC 40 (2.46%), and the DAX 40 (2.21%).

“The top decliners were the Nikkei 225 (3.36%), Hang Seng (2.95%), and the CSI 300 (2.40%). The FBM KLCI declined 0.99% to 1,441.97 points,” it said.