KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 ― Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade higher next week on the back of bullish divergence.
Phillip Capital Management Senior Vice President (Investment) Datuk Dr Nazri Khan Adam Khan said this is a reversal pattern, which is an indication that the recent downtrend is nearing its end and the market is about to experience a fresh revival.
“The local bourse is expected to trend higher, remaining above the 1,600-point benchmark, which would also draw mild bargain hunting interest despite concerns over the global economic outlook amid the prolonged trade war,” he told Bernama.
As the week just ended, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM KLCI) ended at a high note at 1,609.33, the highest since the slip on Aug 13 due to recession fears after Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped more than 800 points.
The local bourse persisted to break across the 1,600 resistance level backed by institutional support despite the backdrop of flattish regional markets as the trade war and recessions spooked investors
Going forward, Nazri said aside from continuous political turmoil in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Italy, investors are also cautiously awaiting US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium about the outlook for interest rates.
The market would also react to the policies made during the G7 meeting in France over the weekend and the upcoming decision on whether or not Malaysia would remain in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI) in the coming week.
Yesterday, the local market ended higher backed by institutional support in government-linked blue chips.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI rose 10.11 points to 1609.33 from 1599.22.
Over the week, the market is was traded range-bound as the market was less enthusiastic pending further market direction especially from the Jackson Hole symposium and G7 meeting.
The FBM Emas Index recovered 78.04 points to 11386.15, the FBMT 100 Index added 73.68 points to 11,219.33 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 80.97 points to 11,924.19.
The FBM 70 firmed 106.33 points to 14,180.45 and the FBM Ace Index declined 34.09 points to 4,555.63.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index expanded 130.82 points to 15,655.33, the Plantation Index advanced 83.32 points to 6,841.69 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.85 point to 150.57.
Weekly turnover firmed to 10.32 billion units worth RM7.00 billion compared with 8.33 billion units valued at RM6.6 billion.
Main Market volume expanded to 6.95 billion shares worth RM6.28 billion from 5.38 billion shares worth RM5.99 billion.
Warrants turnover rose to 1.86 billion units worth RM421.67 million from 1.75 billion units worth RM449.52 million.
The ACE Market volume added 1.54 billion shares worth RM297.51 million from 1.17 billion shares worth RM187.90 million last week. ― Bernama
