Foreign investors remained net sellers of Malaysian equities in the shortened trading week of Sept 1 to 4, with net outflows rising 68% week-on-week to RM592.7 million, according to CIMB Securities.
The outflow widened from RM353.1 million in the preceding week, taking cumulative foreign net selling for 2026 to RM5.42 billion.
Domestic investors continued to absorb the foreign selling. Local institutional investors recorded net purchases of RM204.3 million, up from RM185.1 million previously, bringing their year-to-date net buying to RM4.23 billion.
Local retail participation strengthened substantially, with investors recording RM473.1 million in net purchases, more than triple the RM154.5 million recorded in the preceding week. This lifted their year-to-date net buying position to RM466.9 million.
Proprietary investors, however, turned net sellers with an outflow of RM84.5 million, reversing the previous week’s RM13.5 million inflow. They remained net buyers of RM729.2 million on a year-to-date basis.
At the sector level for Aug 28 to Sept 3, foreign selling was concentrated in financial services at RM452.9 million, followed by industrial stocks at RM194.6 million and telecommunications at RM129.6 million.
Foreign investors were net buyers of transportation stocks at RM76.9 million, plantations at RM44.3 million and healthcare at RM35.7 million.
SD Guthrie, Maybank and Westports were the three largest foreign net buys, while RHB Bank, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional were the biggest net sells.
Domestic institutions moved in the opposite direction on several major counters. Their buying was concentrated in industrial stocks at RM205.2 million, financial services at RM153.2 million and telecommunications and media at RM111.5 million.
RHB Bank, Gamuda and Public Bank were their biggest net purchases, while Maybank, SD Guthrie and Zetrix were their largest net sells.
Retail investors, meanwhile, bought a net RM346.3 million of financial stocks and RM102.6 million of utilities. Maybank, Zetrix and RHB Bank attracted the largest retail net purchases.
Retail selling was concentrated in construction and energy stocks, with net outflows of RM43.5 million and RM32.8 million respectively.
Looking ahead, CIMB said investors will be watching Malaysia’s July Industrial Production Index and manufacturing statistics on Sept 9, followed by July labour market and wholesale and retail trade data on Sept 11 for further indications of manufacturing momentum, employment conditions and domestic consumption.
Political developments will also draw attention, including the UMNO General Assembly from Sept 9 to 12 and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Malaysia Day address on Sept 16.
Further ahead, investors are expected to increasingly position around Budget 2027, scheduled to be tabled on Oct 9, particularly for measures addressing the cost of living, fiscal consolidation, targeted subsidies and investment incentives.
CIMB said investors will also continue monitoring domestic political developments ahead of the 16th General Election.
Externally, attention will turn to the US Federal Reserve’s Sept 15-16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting and incoming US economic data for clues on the direction of interest rates.
Elevated global bond yields remain a key risk to equity valuations and foreign capital flows.
CIMB also highlighted US-China relations ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned US visit on Sept 24, as well as Washington’s tightening of secondary sanctions against entities facilitating trade with Iran.
Geopolitical developments involving the US-Iran conflict, Russia-Ukraine war and disruptions in the Red Sea remain additional risks, given their potential impact on oil prices, international trade and global investor sentiment.
