KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 22): Daily turnover volumes and values on Bursa Malaysia rose following the conditional movement control order (CMCO) imposed on the Klang Valley, said CGS-CIMB Research.

In a strategy note yesterday, CGS-CIMB’s Ivy Ng Lee Fang said retail investors last week recorded the biggest gain in participation week-on-week (w-o-w).

However, foreign investors continued to exit on political uncertainties.  

“Foreign selling picked up the pace w-o-w, possibly due to concerns relating to the ongoing power struggle in Malaysia and potential earnings disappointment due to the CMCO,” she said.

Ng said for institutional investors keen on beneficiaries of Covid-19 and the FBM KLCI index review, stocks including Top Glove Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd were among their top buys last week.

She said this could in part be due to positioning by investors ahead of the possible inclusion of Supermax in the KLCI in the upcoming review in December.

Meanwhile, Genting Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd were the top recipients of retail investors’ net buying last week.

“It would appear that retail investors prefer laggards and value plays in the market,” said Ng.

She explained that PPB Group Bhd and Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd were the top two recipients of foreign investors' net buying, adding that Genting, Hartalega and TNB were the most sold by foreign investors.

Ng said the healthcare sector, led by glove counters, was the best-performing sector last week (up 6.9% w-o-w, 13.7% month-to-date and 238.1% year-to-date).

Meanwhile, real estate investments trusts (REITs), due to concerns over the CMCO's impact, were among the three worst performing sectors last week, along with plantation and energy.