PETALING JAYA: Foreign institutions have finally returned to Bursa Malaysia after dumping RM6.43bil worth of local equities on a net basis over the past two months, but the consensus is they are not coming back to buy everything.
Instead, they are gravitating towards quality large-cap stocks, particularly banks and utilities, as investors seek resilient earnings and defensive businesses amid persistent global uncertainties.
According to BIMB Research, foreign funds turned net buyers of RM75.3mil for the week ended July 10, snapping an eight-week selling streak.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd investment strategy director and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the return of foreign investors was an “encouraging signal”, but cautioned that it should not be viewed as the beginning of a broad-based buying cycle.
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