KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade in cautious mode on downside bias this week, with the benchmark index moving between 1,380 and 1,400 amid external headwinds, said an analyst.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said sentiment improved this week as the People’s Bank of China interest rate cuts and higher crude oil prices helped to stabilise the local market.
However, he shared that the market could be in a weaker spell this week as the broader market turned cautious after several major central banks were hawkish in the fight against sticky core inflation.
“As we approach weeks to end, the consensus is building that it will be difficult to tamper Western economies’ core inflation without doing some economic damage which could weigh on commodity-exporting countries like Malaysia.
“So, while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) have tested 1,400 psychological level this (last) week, it could conceivably test the lower end of the range around 1,380 next (this) week, especially if the market starts to think we are nudging ever closer to the developed market recession,” he told Bernama.
In the face of persistent growth headwinds that are intensifying due to tighter global monetary policy, he said the Malaysian market is expected to continue trading on a weaker bias.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI added 2.28 points to finish at 1,390.89 compared with 1,388.61 the week before.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index decreased 15.44 points to 10,232.18, the FBMT 100 Index shed 10.64 points to 9,933.72, the FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 96.03 points to 10,515.75, the FBM 70 Index fell 128.52 points to 13,456.19, and the FBM ACE Index slipped 82.89 points to 5,042.87.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index jumped 271.53 points to 15,444.85, the Plantation Index climbed 69.90 points to 6,718.44, while the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.92 points to 158.87, and the Energy Index slid 8.81 points to 785.08.
Weekly turnover dipped to 15.54 billion units valued at RM8.25 billion from 15.97 billion units valued at RM10.49 billion in the preceding trading week.
The Main Market volume decreased to 9.09 billion shares worth RM7.06 billion compared with 10.74 billion shares worth RM9.24 billion in the previous week.
Warrants turnover was lower at 1.47 billion units valued at RM194.74 million versus 1.76 billion units valued at RM277.45 million last week.
The ACE Market volume swelled to 4.97 billion shares worth RM989.19 million from 3.45 billion shares worth RM971.82 million previously. – BERNAMA
