KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — Bursa Malaysia is expected to continue its volatile trading mode with a downside bias next week due to uncertainty over the US-China trade deal as well as ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
An analyst said that the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI will remain under pressure at least until Jan 15 when the phase one trade deal between the US and China is signed.
“According to data by the US Department of Commerce, the trade war, where additional tariffs have been imposed on both Chinese and American goods, have caused American companies US$46 billion while US exports of goods impacted by retaliatory tariffs have dropped drastically,” she told Bernama.
As of now, she said that trade optimism will remain subdued as US President, Donald Trump has announced that the second phase of the trade talks will only resume after the US Presidential election, which will be held at the end of this year.
On the geopolitical front, she said that even though there has been no new escalation between Tehran and Washington so far, the ground remains simmering.
“The region remains on high alert. Businesses with a presence in the Middle East especially Iraq will remain as “risky” for now,” she said.
Over the week, benchmark Brent Crude surged by up to four per cent, touching as high as US$70 per barrel before retreating to US$65 per barrel today.
“Oil prices will continue their retreat and hover around US$55 to US$65 per barrel,” she said.
On the technical front, she said that the over the week, indexes across the board declined despite a spike in interest in energy-related counters.
“For next week, the FBM KLCI is expected to trade range-bound, with the support located at 1,580, with an immediate resistance of 1,600,” she added.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI declined 19.92 points to 1,591.46 from 1,611.38 previously amid the intensified geopolitical tensions between Tehran and Washington.
On the scoreboard, the FBM Emas Index decreased 169.84 points to 11,350.66, the FBMT 100 Index reduced 159.12 points to 11,107.80, the FBM 70 lost 216.69 points to 14,160.80, the FBM ACE Index shed 45.42 points to 5,380.65 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index contracted 154.04 points to 11,950.26.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index reduced 232.90 points to 15,452.84, the Plantation Index was 169.54 points lower at 7,640.66 and the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 1.39 points to 154.57.
Weekly turnover surged to 15.82 billion units worth RM9.14 billion from 11.58 billion units worth RM7.60 billion in the previous week.
Main Market volume advanced to 11.10 billion shares worth RM7.99 billion compared with 8.49 billion shares valued at RM6.85 billion before.
Warrants turnover widened to 1.35 billion units worth RM227.40 million compared with 933.45 million units worth RM161.52 million previously.
The ACE Market volume leapt to 3.35 billion shares worth RM919.26 million compared with 2.09 billion shares valued at RM587.24 million in the previous week. — Bernama
