KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Sin Chew Daily) — Foreign investors returned to Asian markets last week but not Asean countries.

Foreign funds were net sellers of Malaysian equities at RM214.4 million last week although the repatriation of funds has slowed down.

MIDF Research said after foreign investors sold RM214.4 million worth of local equities on Bursa Malaysia last week, foreign funds were net sellers of RM479.5 million worth of equities in October.

"Foreign investors bought RM101.58 million of local shares last Monday. But a new stimulus package in the United States remained unresolved and the external markets influenced investors' decisions. Net selling by foreign investors gained momentum and RM162.72 million were sold last Wednesday," it said.

So far, foreign investors' net selling for this year reached RM22.81 billion worth of equities on Bursa.

Malaysia recorded lower net outflow when compared with Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

MIDF Research said retail investors were net buyers of RM446.5 million worth of equities on Bursa last two weeks with bargain-hunting activities and renewed interest in glove stocks while local institutions sold RM232.1 million net during the same period.

"Net buying amounted to RM11.6 billion from retail buyers thus far in 2020, while institutions bought to the tune of RM10.9 billion," it said.

The average daily trading volume (ADTV) for retailers grew 16.58% weekly while the ADTV for foreign investors 4.2% and local institutions 6.98%.

Several Genting-related counters whose share prices had plunged drastically generated bargain-hunting activities among investors.

Genting Bhd and Genting Plantation attracted an inflow of RM5.44 million and RM1.82 million respectively. MISC saw the second highest net inflow of RM1.99 million.

Top Glove saw the largest net outflow of RM9.61 million while property icon Mah Sing Group which joined the glove industry lately recorded net outflow of 3.64 million, followed by Dialog at RM2.29 million.