KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Bursa Malaysia is expected to continue to head north next week, supported by positive local and global economic developments, with the benchmark index seen hovering within the 1,530-1,550-point range, a dealer said.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng sees the buying momentum continuing going forward as foreign funds continue to flow into the region while valuations on the local market remain attractive compared to regional peers.

“Hence, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to hover within the range of 1,530-1,550 next week. From the technical point of view, we see strong immediate support at 1,520 and resistance at 1,550,” he told Bernama.

FBM KLCI ended the week higher after three consecutive days of losses, supported by bargain-hunting activities and foreign-buying support.

On Friday, the benchmark index added 0.81 per cent, or 12.37 points, to close at 1,531.22, lifted mainly by glove and banking counters.

“Key regional markets also ended higher following overnight gains for tech stocks stateside as the Nasdaq Composite rebounded. China/Hong Kong stocks rose on optimism Beijing will ease regulatory curbs to shore up growth,” he said. “On the domestic front, the FBM KLCI trended higher and managed to close above the 1,520 support level.”

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the benchmark index eased 0.51 of-a-point to end the week at 1,531.22 from 1,531.73 previously.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 35.28 points to 11,328.85, the FBMT100 Index dropped 66.38 points to 10,961.31, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 71.72 points to 12,340.02.

The FBM 70 shed 109.98 points to 15,002.54, while the FBM ACE erased 146.50 points to 6,977.99.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index rose 38.83 points to 15,205.71, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.89 of-a-point easier at 201.67, and the Energy Index added 6.23 points to 788.85.

The Plantation Index fell 53.63 points to 6,672.94, the Healthcare Index erased 53.66 points to 2,359.99, while the Technology Index dipped 1.48 points to 99.16.

Weekly turnover increased to 15.77 billion units worth RM11.71 billion from 13.70 billion units worth RM10.61 billion in the previous week.

The Main Market volume rose to 10.30 billion shares valued at RM9.87 billion from 9.07 billion shares worth RM9.18 billion in the prior week.

Warrants volume narrowed to 1.18 billion units worth RM208.88 million versus 1.25 billion units valued at RM211.44 million previously.

The ACE Market volume widened to 4.25 billion shares worth RM1.62 billion from 3.36 billion shares worth RM1.22 billion in the previous week. — Bernama