KUALA LUMPUR: Retail investors stepped up their buying of sold down stocks on Thursday on Bursa Malaysia, ignoring the foreign net selling, according to BIMB Securities Research.
It said on Friday retail investors were net buyers at RM36mil and local institutions ar RM99.7mil while foreign funds were net sellers at –RM135.7mil.
Overnight on Wall Street, key indices rebounded supported by recovery in oil prices while European markets finished sharply lower, as corporate earnings weighed on sentiment and investors struggled to find comfort in the oil price pick up.
BIMB Research said the DJI average ended about 330 points higher in afternoon trade, with Chevron and Exxon Mobil contributing the most to gains.
The DJI Average ended the day up by 227.64 points or 1.41% to 16,379.05 while the S&P 500 gained 31.56 points or 1.67% to 1,921.84.
In Asia, markets closed mostly negative on Thursday as concerns about global economic slowdown dampened investors sentiment. In-line with other regional markets, the FBM KLCI ended lower, lost 9.10 points or 0.55% to 1,633.44.
“We expect the local market to be volatile with the index hovering around 1,630 to 1,640,” said the research house.