KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): Foreign investors returned to Bursa Malaysia last week, net buying RM299.6 million in equities following a heavy sell-off the prior week, according to MIDF Research.

The research house said in a note that they net sold RM74.3 million last Monday (Aug 12) but turned net buyers for the remainder of the week, peaking last Friday with RM288.3 million in net purchases.

The top three sectors attracting foreign investment were financial services (RM620.6 million), telecommunication and media (RM93.9 million), and transportation and logistics (RM40.8 million).

Conversely, the sectors with the highest net selling by foreign investors were technology (RM143.8 million), property (RM113.3 million), and industrial products and services (RM100.7 million).

Local institutional investors net bought RM55.7 million last Monday but were net sellers for the rest of the week, with net sales totalling RM328.9 million. Local retailers, however, net bought RM29.3 million in equities throughout the week.

Average daily trading volume declined across all investor classes. Local retailers experienced the largest drop at 45.0%, while local institutions saw a decline of 39.9% and foreign investors saw a 43.5% decrease.