KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 ― The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is likely to trade lower next week, tracking the anticipated weaker underlying performance of the cash market.

Affin Investment Bank Vice-President/Head of Retail Research Dr Nazri Khan said with a quiet economic schedule next week, there appears to be a shift in sentiment taking place, with a seasonally weak May sentiment used as an excuse for profit-taking after the February-April equity market rally.

“We largely attribute the lacklustre session this week to the Russia-Ukraine tension, as well as the aftermath of a larger than expected jump in jobs creation in the US, suggesting rising interest rates earlier than expected.

“Strategy wise, traders should use any volatility as opportunity to buy on dips,” he told Bernama.

For the week just ended, the benchmark index stood at 1,866.72 points, up 2.6 points from the previous week.

May 2014 lost 4.0 points to 1,861.5 points, June 2014 shed 5.0 points to 1,860.5 points, September 2014 was flat at 1,857 points and December 2014 gained 1.0 point for 1,858 points.

Turnover this week slipped to 26,804 lots from last week's 58,840 lots, while open interest fell to 30,631 contracts from 33,694 contracts last Friday. ― Bernama