Foreign fund inflow into Bursa hits US$1b

NEW WEEKLY HIGH: Best capital showing since the 1997/1998 financial crisis, says MIDF

Foreign money flowing into the local stock market topped the US$1 billion (RM3 billion) mark for the first time last week as Bursa Malaysia closed at a new high yesterday.

MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd said it was the best foreign capital showing since the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis.

Brisk trading by foreign investors saw them averaging a net purchase of RM623 million a day last week, pushing the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) to levels unseen before.

Net foreign buying surged to RM1.4 billion on May 6 as investors responded warmly to the outcome of the 13th General Election, MIDF said.

That was the highest-ever purchase in a single day by foreign investors as FBM KLCI leapt 131 points at the start of trading, surging to 1,826.22 before closing at 1,752.02.

History was made as the index crossed 1,800 points.

Net foreign purchases also posted a record 22 weeks of  consecutive buying.

The post-election rally appeared unabated yesterday as the FBM KLCI edged up 15 points to close at a new high of 1,787.90 points. This erased the previous record close of 1.776.73 on May 7.

JF Apex Securities said the index had reversed some of the profit-taking last week after a historic intraday high of above 1,800 points.

“We expect the index to consolidate before attempting to test the resistance of 1,800 points,” it added.

Overall, MIDF said net foreign purchases averaged a whopping RM623 million per day last week.

Foreign investors gave a thumbs-up to the outcome of the general election by buying more than RM3.1 billion net of Malaysian equities in the open market, excluding off-market deals.

So far this year, foreign investors have bought more than RM17.4 billion net of Malaysian equities in the open market compared with RM13.7 billion last year.

RHB Investment Bank head of equity and capital market Gan Kim Khoon said the surge in foreign money could be attributed to the outcome of the general election.

“They could be encouraged by the continuation of the Economic Transformation Programme led by the prime minister.”

He said there is a bullish sentiment in the equity markets worldwide while the local market had been quite laggard in recent weeks due to concerns over the general election.

"The (election) outcome is favoured by the market and that's why we see the aggressive entry of the foreign funds," Gan added.

MIDF said records were also re-written in terms of market participation, and that foreign participation rate surged 52 per cent to RM1.86 billion, the highest ever. Prior to last week, participation rate averaged only RM979 million per week for 2013.

Meanwhile, local retail investors sold RM727 million net last week on heightened participation rate of RM1.5 billion.

To date, local retailers have sold RM5.9 billion net, surpassing the RM4.2 billion recorded for the entire 2012, said the research house.

"Selling by local funds also hit an unprecedented level last week. Net sale by local funds hits RM2.39 billion, also at unprecendented participation rate of RM3.57 billion," it said.

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