Foreign institutions returned to net selling on Bursa Malaysia last week, recording RM437.3 million in net outflows, according to a report by MBSB Research.
This marked a reversal from the previous week’s net buying, with foreign investors emerging as net buyers on only one of the five trading days.
The sole foreign inflow was recorded on Wednesday, amounting to RM53.7 million.
Foreign selling was heaviest on Friday, when net outflows reached RM238 million, followed by Thursday at RM175.3 million, Monday at RM57.9 million and Tuesday at RM19.8 million.
Despite the overall selling trend, several sectors continued to attract foreign institutional interest.
Transportation & Logistics recorded the largest foreign net inflow at RM97.6 million, followed by Construction at RM48.1 million and Property at RM5.8 million.
On the other hand, Financial Services saw the largest foreign net outflow at RM173.5 million, followed by Industrial Products & Services at RM115.2 million and Plantation at RM92.2 million.
While foreign investors turned sellers, local institutions extended their net buying streak to a second consecutive week.
Local institutions recorded RM451.1 million in net inflows during the week, helping to offset a significant portion of foreign selling pressure.
Retail investors, meanwhile, remained net sellers for a second straight week, recording RM13.8 million in net outflows.
Trading activity also picked up across most investor groups, with average daily trading volume (ADTV) recording broad-based increases.
Retailer ADTV rose 35.4%, while local institutions recorded a 24.1% increase.
Foreign institutional trading activity was the exception, with ADTV declining 5.2% over the week.
Overall, the latest fund-flow data pointed to renewed foreign selling pressure on the local market, although continued accumulation by domestic institutions provided some support to Bursa Malaysia.
