Bursa expected to continue upward momentum next week

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 — Bursa Malaysia is expected to continue its positive momentum next week, tracking the uptrend in the regional markets amid the holiday season, with the benchmark index hovering in the 1,510-1,520 range, a dealer said.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the local market valuations remained cheap compared to regional peers.

“Hence we believe bargain hunting will continue while year-end window dressing activities will provide some support to the market if any selldown occurs.

“As such, we expect the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) to trend within the 1,510-1,520 range for the next week. From the technical point of view, we see immediate support level at 1,500 while resistance is at 1,530,” he told Bernama.

For the week just ended, he said the local benchmark index ended flattish on Friday amid a quiet trading day.

He said the index gained 0.03 point to close at 1,516.45 with gainers led by Petronas Gas, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Genting Bhd.

“Meanwhile, key regional markets ended mixed as some major markets in the region, including Hong Kong and Singapore, closed early for Christmas Eve.

“On the domestic front, we believe the benchmark index will possibly continue with its uptrend towards the year-end amid a more vibrant regional performance,” he added.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI climbed 14.44 points to end the week at 1,516.45 from 1,502.01 previously.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 75.19 points to 10,995.51, the FBMT100 Index increased 79.0 points to 10,701.71, the FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 58.23 points to 11,802.86, the FBM ACE slipped 37.70 points to 6,240.12, and the FBM 70 added 3.56 points to 14,003.41.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index surged 139.54 points to 15,422.62, the Industrial Products and Services Index improved 0.74 of-a-point to 197.54, and the Healthcare Index climbed 13.45 points to 2,198.75.  

The Energy Index added 8.87 points to 684.32, the Technology Index inched up 0.53 of-a-point to 94.89, and the Plantation Index gained 58.54 points to 6,488.51.

Weekly turnover slipped to 11.92 billion units valued at RM7.28 billion against 13.77 billion units valued at RM10.46 billion in the previous week.

The Main Market volume fell to 6.99 billion shares worth RM6.28 billion from 9.04 billion shares worth RM9.41 billion in the prior week.

Warrants volume declined to 908.21 million units valued at RM124.28 million versus 1.20 billion units valued at RM185.66 million previously.

The ACE Market volume rose to 3.71 billion shares worth RM871 million from 3.56 billion shares worth RM866.97 million in the previous week. — Bernama