KUALA LUMPUR (July 22): Foreign investors maintained their buying spree on Bursa Malaysia, purchasing RM740.8 million net last week, up 54.9% from the week prior, according to MIDF Research.

"They net bought every day [last week], and have been net buying for 15 consecutive trading days," said the research firm in a note on Monday.

MIDF noted that foreign investors net bought RM326.6 million last Monday, RM64 million on Tuesday, RM235.9 million on Wednesday, RM21.3 million on Thursday, and RM93.1 million on Friday. 

The top three sectors that they net bought were financial services (RM593.1 million), utilities (RM137.5 million), and property (RM128.7 million), while the top sectors that they net sold were technology (-RM73.8 million), energy (-RM55.1 million), and consumer products and services (-RM21.7 million). 

Meanwhile, local institutions continued to net sell for the second week in a row, disposing of RM546.7 million net. 

"They net sold every day last week, and have been net selling for seven consecutive trading days," added MIDF.

Local retailers maintained their net selling stance for the third straight week, net selling RM194.2 million last week. 

The average daily trading volume declined among foreign investors by 9% and local institutions by 3%, while local retailers saw an increase of 2.1%.