Bursa Malaysia is likely to move higher next week, supported by returning global investors, with the benchmark FBM KLCI moving between 1,460 and 1,480, said a dealer.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said strong support from foreign institutions is expected to lift the local bourse, with buying momentum to continue next week.
“We expect the KLCI to see immediate resistance at 1,490, with support at 1,420,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said Bursa stocks surged in a rising tide lifts-all-boats scenario this week, as slower-than-projected US inflation galvanised bets the US Federal Reserve could downshift its aggressive rate-hike path.
According to news reports, US inflation eased to 7.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in October, compared with a reading of 8.2% in September, raising hopes that price hikes have begun to slow down.
Furthermore, Innes said Malaysia’s newly released positive economic data for the third quarter of 2022 (3Q2022) also contributed towards the gain this week.
Bank Negara Malaysia said Malaysia’s economy grew by 14.2% y-o-y in 3Q2022, supported by continued expansion in domestic demand, firm recovery in the labour market, robust electrical and electronics (E&E) as well as non-E&E exports, and ongoing policy support.
“These have been big drivers of today’s (Friday, Nov 11) gains,” he said.
For next week, he said news of China scrapping Covid-19 flight suspensions and a reduction in the quarantine period for inbound travellers would be the focus among investors.
“Since investors are growing more sensitive to reopening news rather than lockdowns, there is finally some room for fine-tuning Covid-19 controls. This shift in policy is great news for the local market,” he said.
He also said a stronger ringgit would be another important driver of local stocks.
“The US dollar’s rise over the past year has left Malaysian markets increasingly exposed to capital outflows, so with the fall in US inflation, that external vulnerability has been eased and should open the door to inbound investment given a softer greenback,” he said.
On Friday, the KLCI strengthened 1.27%, or 18.47 points, to 1,468.21, from Thursday’s close at 1,449.74.
Compared to a week earlier, the key index rose 29.93 points from 1,438.28.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 199.41 points to 10,416.90, the FBM 70 earned 229.89 points to 12,372.02, and the FBMT 100 Index was 202.67 points higher at 10,151.59.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index was firmer by 202.49 points at 10,529.58, and the FBM ACE added 174.13 points to 5,093.31.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 260.54 points up at 16,353.23, the Industrial Products and Services Index widened 5.62 points to 179.40, and the Plantation Index edged up 81.71 points to 6,902.73. However, the Energy Index lost 0.96 of a point to 724.32.
During the trading week, weekly turnover increased to 15.83 billion units worth RM8.83 billion, from 13.37 billion units worth RM8.89 billion in the previous week.
The Main Market volume was higher at 10.75 billion shares valued at RM7.62 billion, against last week’s 9.03 billion shares valued at RM7.61 billion.
The warrant volume climbed to 1.67 billion units worth RM358.37 million, from 1.62 billion units worth RM325.14 million previously.
The ACE Market volume rose to 3.38 billion shares valued at RM840.71 million, from 2.70 billion shares valued at RM955.85 million.
