In February, local institutions were net buyers, buying a cumulative RM400mil on Bursa Malaysia while local retailers bought a cumulative RM1.1bil.
PETALING JAYA: Institutional funds are said to be eyeing buying opportunities emerging from the recent market rout, say fund managers.
“What’s happening in the markets today is truly unanticipated. Like any other crisis, it would remain to be seen if the economic impact would be a sustained one, moving forward, ” said one fund manager.
“The big money, they are usually more long term and may not be too distracted by short-term gyrations in the market. If valuations are compelling enough, with sentiment and fundamental support, money flows could resume, ” the manager added.
According to statistics on Bursa Malaysia, the daily trading participation on March 10 was dominated by the local institutions, which were the net buyers of RM167mil in the market. This category of investors made up 43.89% of participation.
On March 11, local institutions continued to support the buying momentum, making up 47.08% of participation, with net buying standing at RM280mil. Net buyers on both of these days were local institutions and retailers, who constituted a majority of the trades.
The statistics in the past two days are a continuation of a recent trend from the month of February, where local institutions and retailers emerged as the biggest buyers at a time when the market is being plagued by the continued Covid-19 outbreak.
In February, local institutions were net buyers, buying a cumulative RM400mil on Bursa Malaysia while local retailers bought a cumulative RM1.1bil.
The market has taken a dive in recent days after the continued spread of the coronavirus that is now being detected in almost every country in the world. It was recently also exacerbated by the abrupt drop in the international crude oil price due to a price war between big oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia.
StarBiz reported on Wednesday that there were margin calls over the past week, raising concerns about its potential impact on the market, which has already been hit by the uncertainties relating to the Covid-19 outbreak, political uncertainties and the recent crash in oil prices.
