KUALA LUMPUR (March 11): Local institutions’ net buying of Malaysian equities more than tripled to RM1.42 billion last week, from RM443.5 million in the previous week, according to MIDF Research.

In its latest weekly fund flow report, the research house said local retailers also engaged in net buying activities for the second consecutive week, amounting to RM94.8 million.

Meanwhile, foreign investors net sold RM1.51 billion worth of equities on the local bourse last week.

“Towards the end of the week, there was a moderation in the amount of net selling, likely influenced by Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision to maintain its overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3% as anticipated,” it said.

The property sector recorded the largest inflow of RM73 million, followed by transportation and logistics (RM44 million) and construction (RM19.7 million).

Meanwhile, the sectors with the highest net foreign outflows were financial services with RM940.9 million, followed by industrial products and services (RM181.5 million), and consumer products and services (RM153.3 million).

In terms of participation, all investor classes registered declines in average daily trading volumes.

Local retailers’ volume decreased by 23.2%, while local institutions saw a decline of 22.4% and foreign investors a fall of 41.9%.