Johor bahru:<Text>

Foreign investors were net sellers of Asian equities for the week ended Jan 2, 2025, offloading US$1.05 billion (US$1=RM4.06) across the eight markets tracked by MBSB Investment Bank Bhd (MBSB IB). The bulk of these outflows came from India, South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand, reflecting profit-taking and concerns over regional economic indicators as global market volatility weighed on investment sentiment.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Taiwan saw the largest net foreign inflow last week at US$1.04 billion, marking its second consecutive week of inflows, while the Philippines experienced a marginal net foreign inflow of US$4.4 million, snapping five consecutive weeks of outflows. Indonesia posted its 13th straight week of foreign inflows, with net inflows totaling US$124.4 million, and Vietnam recorded a second straight week of net foreign inflows, totaling US$61.8 million.

Foreign investors reversed course to become net sellers in Sou th Korea, recording outflows of US$316.6 million. India recorded the largest net foreign outflow at US$1.72 billion last week. Additionally, foreign investors turned net sellers in Thailand, recording outflows of US$20.8 million after two consecutive weeks of inflows.

In Malaysia, foreign investors continued to be net sellers of domestic equities for a fourth straight week, with outflows of RM904.0 million, 65 percent wider than the previous week. Foreign investors were net sellers on every trading day, with the largest outflow recorded on Wednesday (RM270.0 million), followed by Tuesday (RM261.7 million), Friday (RM232.4 million), and Monday (RM140.0 million).

MBSB IB reported that the top three sectors recording net foreign inflows were Telecommunication and Media (RM16.6 million), Industrial Products and Services (RM14.8 million), and Technology (RM8.1 million). Meanwhile, the top three sectors with net foreign outflows were Financial Services (RM482.8 million), Utilitie s (RM258.2 million), and Plantation (RM75.9 million).

Local institutions recorded net buying for the seventh consecutive week, with net inflows totaling RM924.1 million, while local retailers were net sellers for the fifth consecutive week, with a net outflow of RM20.0 million. The average daily trading volume saw a broad-based increase: local retailers by 3.6 percent, local institutions by 18.1 percent, and foreign investors by 1.5 percent.