Kuala lumpur: Bursa Malaysia is expected to remain on an upward trajectory next week, testing the psychological 1,600 level, with some profit-taking activity possibly emerging ahead of the long weekend, an economist said.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said that local market momentum will be influenced by Wall Street reactions, with sentiment closely tied to evolving United States (US) macro signals. The recent shift in expectations was driven by the release of US S and P Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data for August, where stronger confidence in both manufacturing and services pushed the composite PMI to its highest level since last December. Mohd Sedek Jantan pointed out that the index is likely to trade within the 1,610-1,615 range as investors balance external cues with domestic policy support.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng stated that next week, investors will focus on a series of key economic releases, including China's industrial profit and PMI as well as US initial job claims. On the domestic front, the benchmark index attempted to break the 1,600 psychological level on Friday. Breaking this level will pave the way to the next resistance at 1,620. Thong Pak Leng noted that the benchmark index is currently in an oversold position, suggesting the possibility of profit-taking in the near future. The index has shown recovery from earlier weakness, indicating a long-term bullish structure, with expectations for the FBM KLCI to trend within the range of 1,580-1,620 for the coming week.
On a weekly basis, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 21.23 points to 1,597.47 on Friday from 1,576.34 a week earlier. Additionally, the FBM Emas Index gained 103.5 points to 11,834.56, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 98.31 points to 11,611.17, the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 106.57 points to 11,761.42, the FBM 70 Index shed 104.28 points to 16,556.40, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 30.17 points to 4,743.62.
By sector, the Financial Services Index increased by 142.89 points to 18,222.96, the Plantation Index added 104.36 points to 7,608.39, and the Energy Index went up 8.11 points to 748.94. Weekly turnover improved to 13 billion units worth RM13.53 billion from 11.1 billion units worth RM11.87 billion in the previous week. The weekly Main Market volume widened to 7.39 billion units valued at RM12.38 billion compared with 7.16 billion units valued at RM11.06 billion previously. Warrants turnover declined to 2.91 billion units worth RM473.76 million from 3.37 billion units worth RM453.56 million in the preceding week. The ACE Market volume grew to 2.03 billion units valued at RM681.11 million versus 1.64 billion units valued at RM593.87 million previously.