KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade largely sideways next week, as holiday conditions continue to dampen market activity, said an economist.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan noted that with most major macroeconomic and corporate catalysts already priced in, the year-end rally is likely to lose momentum, while trading volumes should remain subdued.

He said the market will be closed on Thursday for the New Year holiday, and Friday’s session is likely to be broadly flat.

“Even so, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is on track to close the year above the 1,643 level, delivering a positive outcome for 2025.

“This would represent the first instance in the post-pandemic period of two consecutive years of market gains, reinforcing the view that Malaysia’s equity market has moved onto a firmer structural footing,” he told Bernama.

To recap, Bursa Malaysia ended the week slightly lower amid profit-taking, snapping a five-day winning streak. The benchmark index touched a nearly 16-month high, closing at 1,678.31 on Wednesday.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI rose 11.20 points to 1,677.10 from last week’s 1,665.90.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 55.06 points to 12,288.14, the FBMT 100 Index increased 59.92 points to 12,090.67, the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 79.91 points to 12,105.61, and the FBM ACE Index put on 44.91 points to 4,859.79. The FBM 70 Index slipped 10.62 points to 16,802.57.

By sector, the Financial Services Index jumped 66.63 points to 19,628.38, the Plantation Index rose 8.36 points to 8,299.52, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 3.64 points to 174.03, while the Energy Index shed 3.21 points to 765.77.

Weekly turnover tumbled to 7.96 billion units worth RM6.79 billion from 12.77 billion units worth RM12.07 billion a week earlier.

The Main Market volume decreased to 4.64 billion units worth RM6.16 billion versus 6.85 billion units worth RM10.95 billion previously.

Warrants turnover dwindled to 2.30 billion units valued at RM236.07 million against 4.45 billion units valued at RM566.59 million a week ago.

The ACE Market volume slipped to 1.01 billion units valued at RM385.43 million from 1.47 billion units valued at RM544.20 million last week. — Bernama