KUALA LUMPUR (April 22): Foreign investors offloaded RM1.59 billion in local equities on Bursa Malaysia last week in tandem with most Asian markets.

In its weekly fund flow report on Monday, MIDF Research said this was the highest weekly net outflow in four years since the country went into movement control order in March 2020.

The research house said this was the eighth consecutive week of net selling in Malaysia by foreign investors.

“They net sold every day last week and have been net selling Malaysian equities for nine straight trading days.

“The only sector with a net foreign inflow last week was telecommunication and media (RM9.3 million), while the top three sectors that recorded the highest net foreign outflows were financial services (RM425.8 million), consumer products and services (RM308.9 million), and industrial products and services (RM206.3 million),” it said.

MIDF said the local bourse continued to be supported by local institutions, net buying RM1.79 billion for the week, a six-year high since February 2018.

The research house said this was their eighth consecutive week of net buying.

“In terms of days, they have been net buying for 11 straight trading days.

“Meanwhile, local retailers remained net sellers for the sixth consecutive week, with net sales amounting to RM195.8 million.

“They net bought RM59.5 million [last] Monday but were net sellers for the rest of the week,” it said.

MIDF said that in terms of participation, average daily trading volume saw increases across the board, led by local institutions (30.2%), followed by foreign investors at 28.4% and local retailers at 19.5%.

Commenting on the international situation, MIDF said that last week, a majority of major markets experienced declines, with 17 out of the 20 indices that the research house monitors recording losses.

“China’s CSI 300 led with a growth of 1.89%, followed by the CAC 40 (0.14%), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which inched up only by 0.01%.

“Notable decliners included the Ho Chi Minh VSE (7.97%), Nikkei 225 (6.21%), and TAIEX (5.83%),” it said.