KUALA LUMPUR: There continued to be a net outflow of foreign investment dollars from Bursa Malaysia over the past week, although the amount narrowed to RM27.7mil from RM113.5mil in the prior week.

According to MIDF Research, equity markets were a sea of red last week as the US is scheduled to announce its consumer price index for August this coming Wednesday.

Investors were anxious over the report, which will set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week.

Another major development that moved markets last week stemmed from the ongoing tensions between China and US.

MIDF highlighted reports that the Chinese government has ordered a ban on the usage of Apple iPhones and other foreign-brand devices among civil servants and employees of state-owned companies, which saw Apple’s share price and those in its supply chain taking a hit.

On Bursa Malaysia, the sectors that saw the most net foreign outflows were financial products and services (RM226mil), industrial products and services (RM33.5mil) and consumer products and services (RM30.2mil).

The sectors with the highest net foreign inflows were utilities (RM211.6mil), property (RM40.4mil) and energy (RM32.9mil).

Meanwhile, local institutions maintained net buying for the fourth week to the sum eof RM60.6mil.

Local retailers remained net sellers for a ninth straight week with ner sales amounting to RM33mil.

In terms of participation, there was a decline in average daily trading volume (ADTV) across the board among foreign investors (51.1%), institutional investors (28.4%) and retail investors (26.6%), said MIDF.